Elon Musk encourages world leaders and business people to communicate in a more authentic way—to use Twitter more directly.
Key Details
- The World Government Summit 2023 was hosted this week in Dubai, from February 13 to 15, and hosted hundreds of global leaders worldwide.
- Twitter CEO Elon Musk virtually addressed the main stage of the event on Wednesday morning for a half-hour conversation on “accelerating development and governance,” hosted by UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs H.E. Mohammad AlGergawi.
- During the discussion, Musk encouraged business leaders and politicians to “speak in their own voice” online and convey their beliefs directly through Twitter, not merely outsourcing beliefs to press releases and social-media managers.
- Musk tweeted a video of the speech early Wednesday morning, affirming that he “absolutely” stands by his statement.
Why It’s Important
Musk has received criticism in the past half-decade for his candid approach to Twitter discourse, sharing memes and business advice in a manner that appears chaotic and unstable and poorly reflects on the reputations of companies he runs, such as Tesla and SpaceX. He’s even been sued by his own investors over claims that his Twitter activity purposely caused Tesla’s stock devaluation.
When Musk purchased Twitter in October 2022, he oversaw months of chaos, indecisive company policies, and layoffs as the company radically restructured—with media outlets and analysts predicting that the chaos would result in the death of the social media platform in the near future.
Addressing The Criticism
Musk directly addressed the criticism he receives online, noting that he doesn’t mind the criticism and that people need to have thick skin to engage online. “There are going to be people who try to twist the knife, but as a forum for communication, it’s great.”
“Sometimes you make a mistake, and it’s fine, but when you do your own talk or a meeting at a summit, that’s the way to do it. Do the tweets yourself and convey the message you want directly,” he says.
Notable Quote
“Generally, I would recommend communicating alot on Twitter, it’s good for people to speak in their voice as opposed to how they think they should speak. Sometimes people think they should speak what is expected of them, but at times it sounds somewhat stiff and not real. If you read a press release from a corporation, it just sounds like propaganda. I would encourage CEOs, companies, legislators, prime ministers, and so forth to speak authentically and to explain particular policies,” says Musk.