Pavel Durov, CEO and founder of Telegram, recently shared his enthusiasm for Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now renamed X, lauding the billionaire for trying to make the platform seemingly “more pro-freedom of speech”.
What Happened: The clip was an edited excerpt from a recent show where Tucker Carlson, a popular ex-Fox News host turned podcaster, speaks to Durov. Musk responded succinctly to the clip highlighting Durov’s comments with a single word on social media: “Cool.”
“I’m not an expert in the US politics. But to be fair, you have, now, Twitter or X. Yeah. That, seemingly becoming more pro-freedom of speech. And I think it’s a great development,” said Durov.
During the conversation, Carlson pointed out that Musk’s move into social media might have ended Telegram’s dominance, but Durov welcomed the competition.
“We love the fact that Elon [Musk] bought Twitter,” Durov expressed. He highlighted the fresh wave of innovation Musk is bringing to the social media landscape, which he believes was stagnant except for a few like Telegram.
Durov praised X for its experimental approach, something he sees as vital for progress in the industry. “You could see X trying a lot of things. Some of them will turn out to be mistakes, some of them will work, but at least they’re trying to innovate,” he explained. This trial-and-error method, according to Durov, is a departure from the norm where larger tech giants merely replicate successful features from smaller innovators.
“What X is trying to do is in line with what we are building, innovation, trying different things, trying to give power to the creators, trying to get the ecosystem economy going,” Durov added.
Why it matters: Durov’s comments on X and Musk grab attention because Telegram, the messaging app he founded, is well-known for its minimal content moderation. In fact, the app also promotes its commitment to free speech and assembly on its press page.
However, although Musk has attempted to position X as a pro-free speech platform following his acquisition, his previous actions complicate this narrative.
For example, Musk's decision to purchase Twitter stemmed partly from his annoyance with the @ElonJet account, which tracked his private jet movements. One of his first actions after acquiring Twitter was to suspend the account, contradicting his proclaimed dedication to free speech.
Moreover, Musk has faced criticism for attempting to silence dissenting voices. In one instance, he dismissively told actor James Woods to “Then delete your account” in response to critical comments about platform policy changes.
Similarly, Musk defensively justified Twitter’s compliance with Turkish government requests to censor content ahead of elections, raising questions about his commitment to free speech ideals.
Read next: Ron Baron Backs Elon Musk’s $56B Pay Package: ‘Tesla Is Better With Elon’
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