Nobody is surprised Twitter turned Elon down. But what IS surprising is how open they now are about their desperation to control the narrative. Even at the cost of their own company.
Clearly, what the board has done has nothing to do with finances and everything to do with denying freedom of speech to those they disagree with which ironically makes them kinda sorta fascisty. The same people who have been calling anyone and everyone on the Right MUH FASCISTS are the ones trying to silence others on a global level.
It would be hilarious if it weren’t so damn terrifying.
Jeff Carlson wrote an exceptional thread and while we know they will NEVER answer his questions … boom.
A question for @BlackRock & @Vanguard_Group
You've held positions in Twitter for years. Price & performance has deteriorated.
How do you explain to shareholders your resistance to @elonmusk offer?
How do you explain not taking simple steps to enhance performance long ago?
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
They don’t care about their shareholders,
They just care about the POWER.
Given the incredibly simple steps that are required:
1) Allowing the platform to run as an open forum for Free Speech
2) Encouraging subscriber growth rather than banning conservative ideologies
3) Removing wasteful overhead
Your refusal to do so raises very real questions.
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
It does indeed.
Are you using your shareholders' money to promote your own ideologies – at the direct expense of increased return to your shareholders?
Because, honestly, that's the only explanation I can come up with given the steps you've allowed to be taken in the management of Twitter.
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
This ^
A follow-on question specific to @Vanguard_Group
If you believed value at Twitter to be so high, why didn't you increase your ownership of Twitter BEFORE @elonmusk offer?
Seems odd that you would acknowledge value in change when you refused to make that change yourself.
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
This also. ^
Another question I have is for @Alwaleed_Talal and the @SECGov
Yesterday you said "Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer."
Odd as you don't show as a holder.
Your claim moved Twitter stock materially. Do u still own?
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
Oops.
Adoption of a Poison Pill is only utilized when entrenched management has failed – and is trying to stave off their ouster.
Not surprising that Twitter has done so.
But how does Vanguard & Blackrock rationalize this to their fund's shareholders?https://t.co/08p2i6CZCA
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
The answer is they can’t.
And cue the massive lawsuits …
The only answer to what we're seeing is the answer that everyone knows.
This is not a "financial" transaction. It never was.
The valuation is not in assets, cash flow, growth or EBITDA. Twitter's valuation to their holders lies in the authoritarian control of Free Speech.
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) April 15, 2022
Authoritarian control of free speech.
What he said, all damn day.
Been saying it for a while, dig into Blackrock and you find the people behind the curtains who have been pitting us against each other for decades.
— Jerry Milkenson (@AviateUnlimited) April 15, 2022
If nothing else, Elon has exposed who is REALLY pulling the strings behind Twitter and their blatant, gross, obnoxious bias.
***
Related:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member