While addressing at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference on Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former US President Donald Trump.
Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” just agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s account, which had more than 88 million followers, was suspended days before his tenure ended, putting an end to years of dispute about how social media companies should handle the accounts of strong world leaders.
Shortly after the melee on the US Capitol on January 6, Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter. In making its judgment, Twitter cited “the potential of future instigation of violence.”
The decision strengthened his position with conservatives, Musk said, calling the ban “morally incorrect and flat-out stupid.”
Trump previously stated on Fox News that he would not return to Twitter even if Musk purchased the platform and reinstated his account, and that he would instead use his own social media app, Truth Social, which debuted in late February but was glitchy until recently when it began allowing more users in.
There was no immediate comment from a Trump spokesperson.
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