Elon Musk breaks silence on Twitter deal controversy with meme that may reveal his strategy



After going silent on social media for several days, billionaire Elon Musk responded to the controversy over his decision to pull out of his deal to purchase Twitter early Monday — tweeting out a meme of him laughing after Twitter reportedly lawyered up to enforce the agreement.

News broke Friday that Musk is seeking to terminate his agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion because he claims Twitter refused to turn over information that would enable him to calculate the number of fake or spam accounts on the platform. Musk's decision was upsetting to many people who had come to believe his prospective takeover of Twitter would make the company less hostile towards free speech and end the censorship of prominent conservative figures, including former Republican President Donald Trump.

It was also upsetting to Twitter Inc., which hired lawyers from a high-powered business firm to sue Musk to complete the deal, Bloomberg reported.

Instead of commenting on the controversy directly, Musk tweeted a meme showing him laughing at different captions.

"They said I couldn’t buy Twitter; Then they wouldn’t disclose bot info," the captions read. "Now they want to force me to buy Twitter in court; Now they have to disclose bot info in court."

\u201chttps://t.co/JcLMee61wj\u201d
— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1657512240

The tweet to his 100.9 million followers quickly went viral, gathering more than 870,000 likes and over 104,000 retweets.

Shortly thereafter, Musk tweeted another meme showing famed martial artist and actor Chuck Norris winning a chess match with only one piece remaining.

"Chuckmate," Musk wrote.

\u201cChuckmate\u201d
— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1657512536

The memes were Musk's first public statements since his attorneys sent a letter to Twitter on Friday alleging the company had "made false and misleading representations" when the Tesla CEO agreed to purchase the company for $54.20 per share.

Attorney Mike Ringler wrote that Twitter had refused to hand over data and information Musk needed to "make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter's platform."

Twitter has claimed that spam accounts comprise fewer than 5% of the users on its website. Musk has claimed the number is much greater and has asserted Twitter will not turn over data that would permit him to make a more accurate assessment.

Twitter chairman of the board Bret Taylor responded to Musk's attorney Friday, tweeting: "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”

Musk's meme suggests he views Twitter's impending lawsuit as an opportunity to finally have his questions about fake Twitter users answered in court.

Elon Musk fires out meme scathing the media for publishing 'inaccurate' articles and spewing Nazi accusations



After being besieged by negative articles by legacy media, Elon Musk fired back by posting a meme that slammed the press for "publishing articles that are inaccurate."

On May 5, the New York Times published an article titled: "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege."

The New York Times promoted the article on its official Twitter account with nearly 53 million followers, writing, "Elon Musk grew up in elite white communities in South Africa, detached from apartheid’s atrocities and surrounded by anti-Black propaganda. He sees his takeover of Twitter as a free speech win but in his youth did not suffer the effects of misinformation."

The New York Times accused Musk of the crime of living during "the apartheid era" that "created all-white enclaves littered with anti-black government propaganda and sheltered from the atrocities of apartheid."

The Times interviewed high school classmates of the 50-year-old Tesla CEO to "reveal an upbringing in elite, segregated white communities that were littered with anti-black government propaganda, and detached from the atrocities that white political leaders inflicted on the black majority."

The Times wrote, "Classmates at two high schools he attended described him as a loner with no close friends." The Gray Lady claimed that Musk had been "insulated from the harsh reality" of the system of apartheid. Regarding Musk's acquisition of Twitter, the NYT wondered "how growing up as a white person under the racist apartheid system in South Africa may have shaped him."

However, "Breaking Points" host Saagar Enjeti pointed out on Twitter: "In this article NYT itself reports @elonmusk: 1. Had non-white friends growing up in apartheid SA 2. His own father was an ANTI-APARTHEID politician 3. He literally left so he didn't have to serve in apartheid military. They still insinuate he is a racist."

On Wednesday, Musk slammed the corporate press with a meme accusing the corporate press of publishing "slanderous" articles.

Musk utilized the popular "Galaxy Brain" meme format – which is described by the Know Your Meme website: "Though the expanding brain is usually implied to showcase intellectual superiority over various objects, it is more often used in an ironic sense to imply the opposite, where objects of derision are implied to be of higher standard than objects that are usually highly regarded."

The meme that Musk posted to Twitter features three images of a human brain.

The first image has the caption: "Publishing factual, accurate news." The second brain is brighter and larger with the caption: "Publishing articles that use clickbait and out-of-context quotes." The third and final frame mocks legacy media outlets and reads, "Publishing articles that are inaccurate, slanderous, and include at least one accusation of being a nazi."

pic.twitter.com/CWWDdur0oz
— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1652297096

On May 2, Musk accused MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan of labeling Republicans as "Nazis."

Speaking about the GOP potentially making gains in the 2022 midterm elections, Hasan said, "We're living through an unspeakably dangerous moment, the pro-QAnon, pro-neo-Nazi faction of the Republican party is poised to expand dramatically, come the midterms."

Hasan also slammed Musk as a "petulant and not-so-bright billionaire" who "casually bought one of the world’s most influential messaging machines and just handed it to the far right."

Musk replied to a video clip by writing, "NBC basically saying Republicans are Nazis."

NBC basically saying Republicans are Nazis \u2026
— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1651512977

Last month, the Washington Post published an article claiming that Musk has the "power to unleash mobs against people" and his "supporters have weaponized Twitter." Musk responded to that article by sharing a meme asserting that Twitter has a left-wing bias based on a "Joe Rogan Experience" interview with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey from March 2019.