Elon Musk sharply contradicted a declare by Fact Social head and former Republican lawmaker Devin Nunes that Donald Trump had directed Musk to purchase Twitter.
The Tesla CEO and multibillionaire flatly known as the declare “false” in a tweet.
“I’ve had no communication, immediately or not directly, with Trump, who has publicly said that he will probably be solely on Fact Social,” Musk wrote, referring to the previous president’s personal social media platform and Twitter competitor.
Nunes claimed on Fox Enterprise on Wednesday that Musk was following Trump’s directive when he bought Twitter.
“President Trump, principally earlier than Elon Musk purchased it, truly mentioned to go and purchase it as a result of the aim of our firm is de facto to construct a group the place individuals are in a family-friendly, secure surroundings,” the previous California congressman, who’s now the CEO of Trump Media & Expertise Group, informed Fox.
“That’s why we inspired Elon Musk to purchase it, as a result of somebody has to tackle these tech tyrants,” Nunes mentioned. “Donald Trump wished to guarantee that the American folks received their voice again and that the web was open, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Musk’s buy of Twitter for $44 billion presents main new competitors for Fact Social, which has already been plagued with issues. Musk is anticipated to open up Twitter to far-right voices, the identical being courted by Trump’s fledgling Fact Social.
Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., which plans to take Fact Social public, have tumbled in current weeks.
Trump, who has been completely banned from Twitter for his position in final yr’s rebel, mentioned final month that he wouldn’t return to Twitter even with Musk because the proprietor.
He insisted he’d stick together with his personal Fact Social operation, despite the fact that he has solely posted two very temporary messages on the positioning since its launch virtually three months in the past. Trump usually posts all of his communications on the Twitter account of an aide.