As veteran business journalist Ross Greenwood pointed out, Elon Musk could have bought any or all of Fortescue Metals, Coles, Santos and Qantas and still walked away with spare change.
So why Twitter? It is a company that has never returned a dividend to shareholders and will now, as a private entity, likely return little financially to Musk.
Twitter is a different social platform. More egalitarian than Facebook, more informative than Instagram.
It is dominated by political, media and academic voices, at times to the point where it becomes repetitive and boring.
Its good side shows dissenting voices, its bad side is the aggressive trolling and campaigning against the very thing that makes it interesting.
It has also, like other social platforms, become a haven for propaganda or political interference masquerading as genuine news.
As a journalist, I like reading different perspectives.
I know people of the left or right who read only the newspapers, journals and feeds that reinforce their world view.
Contrary to the opinions of some, I don’t possess a singular world view. I was raised in a household that considered voting a chore, something they were compelled to do and would generally discharge without any real thought.
I’ve never revealed how I have voted at any election, but I can reveal that I have never donkey voted.
It is too important, regardless of whether it actually makes a difference or not, to waste your vote.
I read constantly, including consuming the writings of people with whom I know I don’t agree or share many core values.
Understanding different perspectives, including those of which you are yet to be convinced, is important.
Which is why Musk, an advocate of free speech, might just be the right person to steer Twitter back to being the dominant platform for debate, ideas and analysis.
There will be a cost, potentially far greater than the price he has paid for the company.
A loosening of the algorithms will mean stuff will be published that people find offensive, obscene or infuriating.
Musk will now be the face of Twitter, and his companies, including electric car maker Tesla, the obvious target of any backlash, including boycotts.
Personally, I’d rather be able to read something that offends or upsets, and challenge it, or if that is pointless, then choose to ignore it and the person who published it.
That is how Twitter was originally devised.
Musk might well make Twitter the platform it should always have been, but there will be a cost. There always is when it comes to free speech.
34°C