Elon Musk ‘Seriously Considers’ Building His Own Social Media Network

Social media networks have never been so significant, especially following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In recent weeks, the internet has been flooded with numerous photos and videos that have been fueling the military conflict with rumors and strong political rhetoric.

But even before that, social media networks had been under scrutiny for their free speech standards and whether or not it is providing a balanced platform for the variety of opinions and perspectives.

Amongst the people who have been criticizing social media networks is the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX Elon Musk. Musk has repeatedly weighed on the role played by popular networks, especially Twitter, which he described as the "de facto public town square".

Musk also went on to stress the importance of free speech online saying it is a fundamental part of democracy. 

His tweets have opened a larger discussion over the role played by different networks in today's societies. Then, the richest man in the world asked his nearly 80 million followers about "what should be done", suggesting "a new platform".

Musk also responded to a commentator who asked him whether or not he will ever consider building his own network that would replace the current ones with limitations. In response, the well-known businessman responded that he "is giving serious thought to this".

A poll posted by Musk on Twitter on whether or not his followers would support the idea of a new network, about 70% answered positively. 

Online people then widely shared Musk's statement, with some suggesting that he "probably already started building his own social media platform" and that "his tweets are only meant to "promote" the new project amongst his "target audience".

Some users also connected Musk's statement to the recent launch of Truth Social, the network founded and launched by former US President Donald Trump in response to his permanent ban on Twitter and Facebook, in the wake of the Capitol insurrection in January 2021.