MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski: Elon Musk Twitter takeover could be a ‘very dangerous precedent’
The ‘Morning Joe’ co-host sat down with a Business Insider columnist that accused the Tesla CEO of facilitating an environment that promotes violent speech and treats Black people ‘like garbage.'
MSNBC’s Mika Brezinski sounded the alarm over Twitter’s possible management shakeup, calling a hypothetical Elon Musk takeover a "very dangerous precedent" for America.
On Friday, the "Morning Joe" co-host sat down with Business Insider columnist Linette Lopez, who recently wrote the piece, "Elon Musk’s attempt to buy Twitter represents a chilling new threat: billionaire trolls taking over social media."
In the piece, Lopez surmised that Musk’s interest in purchasing Twitter was not about "high-minded ideals" or improving the platform, but rather "muddying the waters" of free speech discourse "for his own benefit."
TWITTER LEFTISTS LOSE IT AFTER ELON MUSK OFFERS TO BUY THE SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT: 'I AM FRIGHTENED'
"Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Americares)
"I think you bring up a great point, but, Linette, are there any ways to stop him if he wants to buy Twitter? Are there any guardrails around something like this? Because this could be a very dangerous precedent," Brezinski asked at the top of the interview.
Lopez started by claiming Twitter shareholders have a difference of opinion with Musk on what free speech looks like and have previously called on the company to be the "vanguard" of removing misinformation, "bad actors" and "moderating speech."
The Business Insider columnist then began an extensive criticism of the Tesla CEO, accusing him of allowing dangerous, racist and violent speech to "fester" within his companies, a reference to a discrimination lawsuit filed in California against the company .
Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter in a deal worth more than $43 billion and take the social media company private. (Reuters)
She went to claim Musk enabled such behavior to occur within his factories and subsequently allowed Black people to be treated "like garbage," having them "clean the floors" among a number of other "menial tasks." Lopez added that Twitter employees are "freaking out" because they know Musk creates "toxic work environments" and actively seeks controversy.
"He does not believe in the consequences of words," Lopez added.
Lopez also blasted Musk for a $40 million settlement with the SEC after the agency sued the billionaire for securities fraud. In 2018, after the CEO tweeted he could take the company private at $420 a share, Tesla’s stock price rose 6%. A lawyer at Tesla is now tasked with monitoring and approving Musk’s tweets related to the company.
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On Thursday Musk offered to pay $54.20 per share for 100% of Twitter, and said that if his offer was not accepted he’d have to reconsider his position as a shareholder, according to an SEC filing.