Elon Musk tells advertisers Twitter can't become 'free-for-all-hellscape'

Oct. 27 (UPI) -- In an open letter to Twitter advertisers on the social media site Thursday, its prospective new owner Elon Musk shared his vision of how he sees the platform being run under his leadership.

He is expected to complete a $44 billion deal for the social media platform Friday afternoon. The founder of Tesla and SpaceX in addressing some critics about his freedom of speech stance in buying the platform said he knows that Twitter can't become a "free-for-all hellscape" but also must be open to all views, although respectfully.

"I didn't [buy Twitter] because it would be easy," Musk said in the statement posted to the social media website. "I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity. Recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts is a very real possibility.

"That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences. In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see a movie or play video games ranging from all ages and to mature."

Musk then targeted advertising content, which he said if done right "can delight, entertain and inform you."

"It can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed but is right for you," Musk said. "For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but high relevant ads are actually content!"

Musk is expected to address Twitter employees on Friday after he made a quirky visit to its San Francisco headquarters with a kitchen sink in hand on Wednesday night.

Leslie Berland, Twitter's chief marketing officer, sent a memo to employees Wednesday saying that Musk was visiting the company.

Shortly after Berland sent out the message, Musk posted a Twitter video of him inside the company's San Francisco offices with the sink.

"Entering Twitter HQ -- let that sink in!" Musk wrote, as he also changed his bio on the social media site to read "Chief Twit."

Musk previously told prospective investors that he planned to cut Twitter's staff by some 75%, shrinking it from 7,500 to a little more than 2,000. Even without the takeover, Twitter had talked about trimming $800 million from its payroll by the end of 2023.

The on again-off again courtship between Musk and his favorite social media site took its final turn earlier this month when Musk submitted a new bid to purchase the company.

Twitter had taken Musk to court to make him go through with a deal to purchase the company after he initially backed out of it. Musk complained that the company officials withheld information from him about the number of fake accounts.

Twitter rejected claims that it has refused to provide information about the phony accounts.