Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the MatRead more

Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Musk Brings to Twitter

Photo: Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

Elon Musk’s decision to plunge himself into the corporate morass that is Twitter, in a way that could spark a fight with securities regulators, suggests the Tesla CEO is a little bored and looking for a new distraction. The timing makes sense. After years of nail-biting struggle, Tesla is finally in a good place: It’s making real money. Meanwhile, his aerospace firm, SpaceX, is chugging along, even if it hasn’t made it to Mars yet. So it’s not a big surprise that Musk feels he has time to devote to Twitter—and not just as a user but as a director, which he became today.

But is Musk what Twitter needs? Twitter has struggled with uneven user growth and a spotty advertising business. As a Twitter power user, Musk likely knows what irritates people who use the service. And he can bring some much-needed energy to the company. Then again, he’s hardly an expert in internet advertising. And his absolutist free-speech stance won’t necessarily help bring in more advertisers (particularly if it ends with, say, a return of Donald Trump to Twitter). Plus, Musk is a loose cannon, which might complicate things. You have to wonder what Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal—whom Musk recently appeared to liken to Stalin—really thinks about having Musk on board.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos by Getty.
Exclusive
Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project
Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
From left to right: Blair Effron, Robert Pruzan and David Handler. Photos by Getty; Tidal Partners.
Exclusive Finance
Disputes, Employee Misconduct Rattle Centerview’s Silicon Valley Dreams
The San Francisco Bay Area–based bankers at Centerview Partners, the investment bank that advised Silicon Valley Bank’s owner and Credit Suisse through recent turmoil, got two doses of bad news last week.
Art by Clark Miller
Exclusive startups entertainment
MasterClass Takes a Crash Course in Frugality
MasterClass had a problem with the shoot featuring its latest star instructor, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty
Exclusive microsoft ai
How Microsoft is Trying to Lessen Its Addiction to OpenAI as AI Costs Soar
Microsoft’s push to put artificial intelligence into its software has hinged almost entirely on OpenAI , the startup Microsoft funded in exchange for the right to use its cutting-edge technology.
From left: Paul Graham, Garry Tan and Michael Seibel. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.
Exclusive startups ai
Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the Mat
Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San Francisco’s September sun, the CEO of Y Combinator snapped selfies with entrepreneurs as he meandered through a crowd of 2,700 attendees at the startup accelerator’s annual alumni event.
Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.
Exclusive startups ai
Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows
Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal value of its common shares 20%, according to former employees who were notified by the company.