A new survey from Rasmussen Reports shows that the majority of Americans believe African-American billionaire Elon Musk will make Twitter a better platform, and the same remained true even when the data was broken down by political affiliations, with a slim majority of Democrats trusting Musk to improve the big tech site.
This week Twitter’s board confirmed that the company will sell to Musk for $54.20 per share, or about $44 billion, and later announced a $1 billion termination fee should either side back out.
Media reports and Democrat politicians have focused on Musk’s alleged reputation for volatility and stance as a “free speech absolutist,” arguing that his purchase will be dangerous for democracy.
The American people do not agree.
62% of Americans said Musk’s purchase will make Twitter better, while only 13% said the purchase will make Twitter worse.
12% said Musk’s ownership won’t make a difference, and 13% said they’re unsure.
Surprisingly, Democrats are optimistic about Twitter’s new management.
70% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats, and 61% of independents believe that Musk will improve the platform.
The same was true for race.
64% of whites, 51% of blacks, and 63% of other minorities believe Musk will improve Twitter.
Those who were concerned that Twitter may suffer from a mass exodus of users due to Musk’s purchase should also find optimism in the poll, as 43% of those polled said they are more likely to use Twitter after the purchase, while only 19% said they are less likely.
21% said Twitter’s owners will not impact their use of the platform, while 17% said they’re not sure.
Rasmussen polled 1,000 American adults on April 26 and 27, and say the poll has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of +/- three percentage points.
Many have wondered if Musk would allow banned conservatives to rejoin the platform when the purchase is finalized. 45th President Donald Trump, for example, has publicly stated that he has no interest in rejoining the platform, however, his lawyers “expect” a meeting with Musk after the purchase to determine if Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter should move forward.
Trump sued Twitter and other big tech sites last year, claiming that they violated his First Amendment right to free speech by banning him. Reinstating Trump’s account may be a condition for the lawsuit to be dropped.
