# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 352
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7026 "2023-10-06T18:41:16Z")
Every day it gets a little bit worse! No, really, that should be their slogan. > ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7027 "2023-10-06T18:45:16Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Every day it gets a little bit worse! > > No, really, that should be their slogan. Everyday, a little bit Xitter! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7028 "2023-10-06T19:22:42Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Freedom of speech means the ability for Musk to call someone a “pedo guy”, but not for him to be called one himself. Freedom of speech doesn’t exist on a privately-owned and controlled platform. Of course, you have the freedom to not use the shitty platform that Elon is flushing down the toilet a bit more each day. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7029 "2023-10-06T19:35:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Freedom of speech doesn’t exist on a privately-owned and controlled platform. But Musk has proclaimed himself a “free speech absolutist”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7030 "2023-10-06T19:36:29Z")
Well then I take it all back, there’s no way he would lie about something. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7031 "2023-10-06T21:38:26Z")
Okay, that was my for-real laugh-out-loud of the day. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7032 "2023-10-06T22:22:32Z")
Twitter CEO claims advertisers are returning to the platform, but they aren’t spending much: > [@](#): > > For example, Visa — which Yaccarino cited as an example of a “returning” advertiser — has spent just $10 in the past 12 weeks, compared to roughly $77,500 in the 12 weeks before Musk bought Twitter. > > … > > Of those three companies she specifically mentioned, AT&T is the only one that was a top advertiser pre-Musk, and the company has spent just $781 in the last 12 weeks — 99.96% less than the more than $1.77 million it spent during the 12 weeks before Musk’s acquisition. > > Visa and Nissan are similarly spending just a fraction of what they spent pre-Musk. Visa spent just $10, and Nissan spent just $687, in the last 12 weeks — 99.99% and 99.77% less than they respectively spent during the 12 weeks before Musk’s acquisition. > … > > But Walmart spent just over $100,000 on X ads in the last 12 weeks — 91% less than the $1.1 million it spent during the 12 weeks pre-Musk. > **[Linda Yaccarino again claims advertisers are returning to X. Here are the facts.](https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/linda-yaccarino-again-claims-advertisers-are-returning-x-here-are-facts)** > > CEO Linda Yaccarino and others at X (formerly Twitter) have repeatedly tried to boast that advertisers are returning to the platform, but a new Media Matters analysis tells a different story: Since Elon Musk took over the company, it has earned 42%... ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7033 "2023-10-06T22:39:11Z")
[![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53239833405_1976580494_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53239833405_1976580494_z.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7034 "2023-10-06T23:12:46Z")
How can companies that large even spend such absurdly trivial amounts of money? I mean what does a $781 ad campaign by a company with (quick google of AT&T) $120.7 billion in revenues in 2023 even look like? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7035 "2023-10-06T23:17:57Z")
I’d presume they’re just running tests - are Twitter ads effective again? Who knows. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7036 "2023-10-06T23:21:22Z")
You can’t even run tests for that amount ($10 for Visa???). I’d guess either Twitter is giving them some ridiculous freebies, or this is residual from an old campaign that is winding down. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7037 "2023-10-06T23:28:45Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if this “return” of advertisers is actually some kind of fixed-length campaign suspension which has timed out and Twitter is using up whatever happened to remain in the account. For instance, perhaps suspending a campaign on Twitter means that the ads are turned off for 6 months and then the account automatically becomes active again. Rather than these companies coming back, it could be that their ad suspension status automatically timed out. It would explain why the amounts are so low. (just a wild guess on my part. I have no info to back this up) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7038 "2023-10-07T00:33:22Z")
“Except for that, Mrs. Lincoln…” > ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7039 "2023-10-07T00:47:31Z")
Well, that fits in nicely with Elmo’s established business strategy of telling each and every of his creditors to fuck right off into thin air. Agile swindling! ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7040 "2023-10-07T00:54:53Z")
> **[X to test three tiers of its Premium service, CEO says; code shows one tier...](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/x-test-three-tiers-premium-140332710.html)** > > X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is planning to test three tiers of its X Premium service in order to bring in additional revenue, according to > In June, Yaccarino joined X (then Twitter) [from NBCUniversal](https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/06/linda-yaccarino-is-officially-on-the-job-as-twitter-ceo/) where she served as chairman of its advertising and partnerships group, with the goal of getting X’s ads business back on track. Those efforts are still underway, as Bloomberg’s report notes she also told the bankers that advertisers were returning to X, but with smaller budgets than before. She additionally noted the company would be cash-flow positive if not for the debt owed – a figure that’s now $13 billion. [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-18/elon-musk-has-more-to-lose-if-he-tries-to-skip-twitter-debt-payment) estimated that X also owes around $1.2 billion in interest payments on that debt per year. I don’t understand, they just got Visa to do $10 in ads. Can’t they put that $13 billion in debt on the corporate Visa card now and negotiate better interest rates than $1.2 billion a year just to service the debt? Also, I must not spend enough of my life following Elmo since I don’t X Twit. I found out in that same article that Elmo is being investigated by the SEC for his purchase of Twitter: > **[SEC to compel Elon Musk's testimony in Twitter stock purchase probe | TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/05/sec-to-compel-elon-musks-testimony-in-twitter-stock-purchase-probe/)** > > The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will try to force Elon Musk to testify over his Twitter stock purchases. The federal agency charged with > The federal agency charged with regulating securities markets is currently investigating Musk for allegedly violating securities laws when he bought Twitter shares before [buying the social media platform](https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/elon-musk-bought-twitter/), which he has since renamed X. > > Buying Twitter stock before acquiring the company could mean Musk was guilty of insider trading, market manipulation or even violation for fair market disclosure. > > The SEC said on Thursday that Musk failed to appear to testify last month as requested. According to a filing by the agency in federal court in San Francisco, first spotted by [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-05/sec-sues-elon-musk-over-refusal-to-testify-in-twitter-probe?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_content=business&leadSource=uverify%20wall#xj4y7vzkg), the agency is auditing Musk’s statements and disclosures about the stock transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7041 "2023-10-07T01:41:47Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You can’t even run tests for that amount ($10 for Visa???). I’d guess either Twitter is giving them some ridiculous freebies, or this is residual from an old campaign that is winding down. or it wasn’t even marketing, but e.g. somebody from HR or a local office in Kansas City inviting to an open event … ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7042 "2023-10-07T02:02:05Z")
Huh! Guess it’s true Visa is “everywhere you’d want to be”! It seems fair to exclude the cost of servicing billions of dollars of debt if it is a large amount. I recently read it takes about thirty one years for a billion seconds to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7043 "2023-10-07T02:51:29Z")
Another far-right antisemitic racist white supremacist in Musk’s orbit: > > **[This anti-censorship crusader appears to have buried something himself: A...](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/michael-benz-rising-voice-conservative-criticism-online-censorship-rcna119213)** > > Frame Game, the pseudonym of an alt-right internet personality, hid his face while pushing racist conspiracy theories. Inadvertent slips revealed details about his identity. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7044 "2023-10-07T03:16:30Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It seems fair to exclude the cost of servicing billions of dollars of debt if it is a large amount. Does ‘not fanboying’ Elmo cause brain damage? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/7045 "2023-10-07T03:31:18Z")
I’m not sure. FWIW the quoted part was meant sarcastically. I’m somewhat of a debt hawk, and annoyed when the Canadian federal government uses the same crappy logic to not include the billions in debt owed by our provinces. But surely stockholders would be understanding, if you patiently explained that you _are_ cash flow positive^ ? ^ except for trivial considerations only of interest to mountebanks, the dyspeptic, auditors, stakeholders or professional accountants. (Note: This is also sarcastic.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=351) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=353)