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SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk could soon become the owner of Twitter, after the billionaire once again offered to buy the social media company for about $44 billion.

Musk has revealed bits and pieces of what he plans to do if he takes control of Twitter — mostly in posts on Twitter itself.

It is still not a done deal — Musk and Twitter have been involved in months of legal wrangling after he tried to back out of the deal this summer. But Musk <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/04/elon-musk-twitter-deal/" target=_blank>reversed course</a> this week and told Twitter he would buy the company for his original offer price of $54.20 per share.

Private texts contain clues as to how Elon Musk might run Twitter if he takes over

Musk, whose bid earlier this year to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/25/twitter-elon-musk-deal/?itid=co_elon-musk_4" target=_blank>buy the social media site</a> shocked observers, had said before the deal was announced that he wanted to promote free speech and open up its algorithm to increase transparency.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO still hasn’t specified exactly<b> </b>what changes he might make to the company’s leadership or when the site could look different to users. But he has tweeted about his ideas for new features and for changes on the site he has called the “de facto town square.”

Here are some of the most notable plans Musk has shared.

Elon Musk’s 19,000 tweets reveal his complicated relationship with Twitter

1. He said he would reverse the ban on former president Donald Trump

Musk <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/10/musk-talk-twitter/" target=_blank>said in May that he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Trump</a>.

“I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme,” he said during a live interview at a Future of the Car event hosted by the Financial Times.

Trump’s account was permanently banned in the wake of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Jan. 6</a>, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Many Republican politicians and right-wing pundits cheered Musk’s plan to buy Twitter, saying he could do away with what they call “censorship” on the site.

Musk earlier denied that he has talked to the former president, tweeting in response to a media report that he has had “no communication, directly or indirectly, with Trump, who has publicly stated that he will be exclusively on Truth Social.”

Trump owns the Twitter clone called Truth Social, which has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/05/trump-truth-social-media-failure/" target=_blank>foundering in its early months. </a>(Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519505697104449538?s=20&t=vbLCLPU6MKmcoQjzzNJ-rQ" target=_blank>suggested in a tweet</a> that the former president should have named his social network “Trumpet.”)

Trump has said that he won’t rejoin Twitter even if he is allowed, though some of his advisers say he wouldn’t be able to stay away.

Trump says he won’t rejoin Twitter. Some advisers don’t believe him.

2. Musk says Twitter should be ‘politically neutral’

Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1523653429410770945?s=20&t=dby3_N5Y3UcwSZlilxsRvQ" target=_blank>tweeted in May</a> that “Twitter obv has a strong left wing bias.”

But he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519441841116041219?s=20&t=YCmYvHlZg43XuP30DX6DLg" target=_blank>has also said that</a> “the right will probably be a little unhappy too.”

“A social media platform’s policies are good if the most extreme 10% on left and right are equally unhappy,” <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1516483038242385928?s=20&t=gkaEmu4e8SqSM3tEqIIZfw" target=_blank>he tweeted</a> the week before Twitter agreed to his purchase offer.

Critics of Musk’s plan to buy Twitter have expressed concern that the billionaire would allow extremist views to remain on the site, including accounts that violate existing rules.

 When former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo tweeted in April that “bullying is not leadership,” Musk responded that he was “just saying Twitter needs to be politically neutral.”

Musk has said many times that he wants Twitter to do a better job promoting free speech. To him, that seems to mean allowing speech that is legal in the specific geographies where Twitter operates.

“Like I said, my preference is to hew close to the laws of countries in which Twitter operates,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1523654106745020418?s=20&t=cR1ktLoIp13I05l_f5tf-Q" target=_blank>tweeted in May.</a> “If the citizens want something banned, then pass a law to do so, otherwise it should be allowed.”

Tech executives and Silicon Valley insiders have expressed skepticism about Musk’s plans for a largely unpoliced space rid of censorship, saying it is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/18/musk-twitter-free-speech/" target=_blank>naive and could make the site unsafe.</a>

Analysis: Musk poised to inherit standoff over whether Twitter ‘aids’ terrorists

Musk appeared in a video with E.U. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to address the new Digital Services Act, which would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/22/european-lawmakers-digital-services/" target=_blank>require the world’s largest tech companies</a> to more aggressively police their platforms for illegal content.

Musk said the law was aligned with his thinking.

“I agree with everything you said, really,” he told Breton <a href="https://twitter.com/ThierryBreton/status/1523773895974612992?s=20&t=NVrSAC_zfs-bokG8M5kdOA" target=_blank>in the video</a>. “I think we’re very much of the same mind.”

Elon Musk wants a free speech utopia. Technologists clap back.

4. Musk wants Twitter to be less ‘niche’

At the Met Gala in New York in May, which Musk attended with his mom, the entrepreneur said the social media site is “sort of niche,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-says-he-wants-boost-twitter-use-niche-most-americans-2022-05-03/" target=_blank>according to Reuters.</a> He wants to get more people on board.

“My goal, assuming everything gets done, would be to make Twitter as inclusive as possible and to have as broad a swath of the country and the rest of the world on Twitter and that they find it interesting and entertaining and funny and that it makes their life better,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xZhBV49gt4" target=_blank>he told an interviewer.</a>

That seems to fit with his idea, shared just days after the deal was announced, that Twitter should be enjoyable. “Let’s make Twitter maximum fun!” <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519495072802390016?s=20&t=twJdjTi6Z2aHK_E1HzaC2Q" target=_blank>he posted.</a>

5. Twitter’s workplace could look different

Not everyone is convinced that a Musk-owned Twitter will be fun. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/25/twitter-employees-musk/" target=_blank>Company employees have expressed concerns</a> that Musk would meaningfully change the firm’s culture and could loosen content moderation, meant to promote safety online, that they have worked hard on for years.

Musk also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/28/musk-twitter-job-cuts/" target=_blank>talked with bankers</a> about potential job cuts at the company. He tweeted this spring that if his deal closes, Twitter would “be super focused on hardcore software engineering, design, infosec &amp; server hardware.”

After Musk reversed course on the deal this week and offered to buy the company at the original price, employees expressed shock. One summed up the mood by saying “Congrats or I’m sorry y’all” in an internal Slack message described to The Post.

Concern about workers quitting grew this spring, especially when the company’s top lawyer <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/09/twitter-lawyer-censor-musk/" target=_blank>faced online attacks</a> after Musk tweeted a meme with a photo of her that cast her as an icon of “Twitter’s left wing bias.”

At the Met Gala, Musk said, “It’s a free country,” according to Reuters.

“Certainly if anyone doesn’t feel comfortable with that, they will on their own accord go somewhere else,” he said. 

Musk’s other companies are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/28/musk-twitter-leaders-tesla-spacex-neuralink-boring/" target=_blank>known for workplaces</a> with long hours and high expectations. Musk, who hasn’t said whether he plans to serve as an executive at Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1522918526520070144?s=20&t=uPlud5IeT8nUr4c3RnGu-w" target=_blank>tweeted that</a> “work ethic expectations would be extreme, but much less than I demand of myself.”

Twitter’s top lawyer long weighed safety and free speech. Then Elon called her out.

Musk has shared a few details of features he might tweak on Twitter, including expressing support for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/29/twitter-musk-new-features/" target=_blank>an edit button.</a> He also tweeted that Twitter will stay free for most users but that there might someday be “a slight cost for commercial/government users.”

Twitter is used by many politicians, companies, government agencies and other officials to share updates in real time.

Elon Musk has big ideas for Twitter. Users should buckle up.

Musk has also said he wants to make the company’s algorithm, or its computer code, public to promote transparency. That’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/16/elon-musk-twitter-algorithm/" target=_blank>easier said than done, experts say.</a>

He <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519469891455234048?s=20&t=royfZHmkS8AqJce9eG7j_Q" target=_blank>called for Twitter</a> direct messages, which are private, to be end-to-end encrypted so they are more secure and “so no one can spy on or hack your messages.”

Western Washington University, BA in Journalism

Rachel Lerman covers breaking news in technology for The Washington Post.