Kate Conger and Ryan Mac: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter

Rising star New York Times technology reporters, Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, tell for the first time what they say is the full and shocking inside story of Elon Musk’s unprecedented takeover of Twitter and the $44 billion deal’s seismic political, social and financial fallout
The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become inextricable from X. the social media platform that until 2023 was known as Twitter. Started in the mid-2000s as a playful microblogging platform, Twitter quickly became a popular nexus of global politics, culture and media-where the retweet button could instantly catapult any idea to hundreds of millions of screens around the world, unleashing raw collective emotion like nothing else before. While its founder had idealistically dreamed of building a "digital town square," he detested Wall Street and never focused on building a profitable business.
Musk joined the platform in 2010 and, by 2022, had become one of the site’s most influential users, attracting more than 80 million followers with a mix of provocations, promotion of his companies, and attacks on his enemies. To Musk, Twitter-once known for its almost absolute commitment to free speech-had badly lost its way. He blamed it for the proliferation of what he called the “woke mind virus” and claimed that the survival of democracy and the human race itself depended on the future of the site. By April 2022, he was its largest shareholder, and soon made an unsolicited offer to purchase the company for the unimaginable sum of $44 billion dollars. Backed into a corner, Twitter’s board accepted his offer-but Musk quickly changed his mind, forcing Twitter to sue him to close the deal in October.
The richest man on earth controlled one of the most powerful media platforms in the world-but at what price? Before long Twitter would be gone for good, replaced by something radically different, as Musk remade the company in his own image from the ground up.
Join us in-person or online as Conger and Mac follow the inner workings of the company as Musk lays siege to it, first from the outside as one of its most vocal users, and then finally from within as a contentious and mercurial leader. Musk has shared some of his version of events, but Conger and Mac have uncovered the full story through exclusive interviews, unreported documents, and internal recordings at Twitter following the billionaire’s takeover.
Notes
This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.
Photos courtesy the speakers.
September 26, 2024
Speakers
Kate Conger
Technology Reporter, The New York Times; Co-author, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter; X @kateconger
Ryan Mac
Technology Reporter, The New York Times; Co-author, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter; X @RMac18
In Conversation with Kevin Roose
Tech Columnist, New York Times; Co Host, “Hard Fork”; X @kevinroose👉Join our Email List! www.commonweal...
🎉 BECOME a MEMBER: www.commonweal...
Discover the rich history of Commonwealth Club World Affairs (CCWA), the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. The product of a 2023 merger between The Commonwealth Club of California, founded in 1903, and The World Affairs Council of Northern California, founded in 1947, CCWA is dedicated to reenergizing dynamic civic space in the Bay Area by cultivating new ideas, connection and action through engaging live programs and inspiring stories.
CCWA organizes weekly in-person, virtual and hybrid events covering politics, culture, society, the economy and much more. Join us as we reimagine what a public affairs forum can be in the 21st century.
In addition to the videos🎥 shared here, CCWA reaches millions of listeners through its podcast🎙and weekly national radio program📻.

[@rikratelband6427]

NYT ... ok NEXT!

[@positivitysuccessvideos]

sorry this was a very boring video. not watching the rest but wondering if they'll get to talking about all the lies and hate he spews and elevates or not.

[@annalisavajda252]

Well just watch Musks interview with BBC he asks for examples of hateful content the reporter mentions Andrew Tate and a few others Elon just ignores then his Don Lemon interview he says he thinks social media is a war zone video game player vs player or player vs environment so if you are an immature troll and gamer it's probably great fun. If you are an intellectual or artistic type wanting a symposium of art and ideas it's disappointing and as a woman you will likely just be harassed by "followers" aka stalkers.

[@femlite07]

Clickbait headline. Fluffy coverage by fangirl

[@mikedx2706]

If Twitter was so badly managed pre-Musk, why was it’s advertising revenue so much better than it is today with Musk’s craziness and threats to sue advertisers for reducing the number of ads they run on Twitter, a/k/a X, these days? That woman seems totally unaware of what’s going on these days.

[@annalisavajda252]

Some people love tabloid trash that is why Elon is rich like Trump is rich what are your priorities popular or honest? To hell with both of them IMHO.