Mark Cuban Weighs In On Elon Musk's Twitter Influence: 'Home Of Free Speech' Or 'State Intervention'?

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is no stranger to expressing his thoughts on a myriad of subjects. In a tweet on Friday, Cuban shed his perspective on Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

What Happened: Cuban, with 8.8 million followers on Twitter, is one of the most followed investors and entrepreneurs on the social media platform. In a tweet on Friday, he voiced his opinion on Musk's "reach and control" on Twitter.

Cuban, who also owns an NBA team, acknowledged that while "everyone has access" to the platform, Musk's reach and influence surpass others.

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He noted that who Musk "supports or denigrates" on Twitter could be compared to "state intervention."

"He owns the platform, he can do what he chooses," Cuban said, adding "But it's disingenuous to say Twitter is the home of free speech when he chooses to often put his thumb on the scale of reach."

Cuban highlighted that it is a "difficult position" for Musk to be in.

Cuban said that Musk "is opinionated and has every right to be and to tweet" what he pleases, "But rather than saying Twitter is the home of free speech, I wish he would just call it like it is. Twitter is his platform and he is going to use it to support and influence the positions he wants to support and influence."

Everyone has access. But @elonmusk has the ultimate reach and control. Who he supports or denigrates is the Twitter equivalent of State intervention. He owns the platform, he can do what he chooses. But it's disingenuous to say Twitter is the home of free speech when he… https://t.co/SFVUndT2Cw

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 19, 2023

Why It Matters: Cuban made his comments while responding to a user who expressed "respect" for the “Shark Tank” star but questioned the "notion that free speech doesn't refer to allowing/respecting all viewpoints, but rather ‘promoting' them."

This user was replying to a previous tweet by Cuban, where he referenced Musk and stated, "He isn’t pushing free speech," and added that he would consider Musk a proponent of free speech when he "goes out of his way to engage with and promote the accounts and tweets of people who disagree with him."

"Until then, this is just an adventure for him."

I have immense respect for Mark Cuban but am baffled by the notion that free speech doesn't refer to allowing/respecting all viewpoints, but rather "promoting" them.

— Chris A. Mitchell (@AtlasMitchell) May 19, 2023

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