It's been a wild few days for Twitter and Elon Musk. Where do things stand now?

It's been a wild few days for Twitter and Elon Musk¹. Where do things stand now?

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez talks to Dan Ives, tech analyst³ with Wedbush Securities, about Elon Musk's actions with Twitter and what it means for the company, the business of social media and investments.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

It has been a wild few days for Twitter and Elon Musk. The unpredictable mega-billionaire disclosed he owns 9% of the social media giant. He got a seat on the Twitter board. He even spun⁴ up a tweetstorm of suggestions, such as Twitter should convert its San Francisco headquarters into homes for the unhoused. Then, he deleted some of his ideas and turned down membership on the board.

Dan Ives is here to try and make some sense of this Silicon⁵ Valley drama. He's a tech analyst with Wedbush Securities. Dan, if you could, for just a minute, jump into Elon Musk's head and tell us what he's trying to do here.

DAN IVES: Yeah. Look, I think Elon Musk was really trying to shake up Twitter in terms of the social media platform - became its biggest shareholder⁶, knew the board would have to talk to him. The board invited him on. And ultimately, he was not going to put a muzzle⁷ on and stay quiet. And now this goes from a Cinderella story, with him on the board helping⁸ Twitter, to what I'd say is more of a "Game Of Thrones" - much more hostile. And this is going to be a get-out-the-popcorn moment.

MARTINEZ: But it's hard for me to believe, Dan, that he didn't know that he would get muzzled⁹ if his stake in Twitter was increased. I mean, how does he not know that? It seems like it dawned on him and then he decided¹⁰, nah, I don't want to do this.

IVES: Yeah. And, look, that's exactly how Musk ultimately operates. And we've seen it, you know, covering him for decades. And I do think Twitter's board thought this was going to be, you know, him coming onto the board, helping, cheese and crackers¹¹, voting on different board - but as everyone know, that - that's not Musk. And this really, ultimately, I think, hit a crescendo¹² Saturday in terms of his tweetstorm. And now, for Twitter and the board, it's the worst nightmare because when you have someone like Musk as a foe¹³, who's going to become more active, you know, and ultimately could, from a hostile perspective, really try to change the board - which, ultimately, could lead to some sort of, you know, buyout of Twitter. So this is really a soap opera that continues to play out.

MARTINEZ: So what kind of an opportunity do you think Musk sees in Twitter? Is it financial or is it more personal or a little of both?

IVES: I think it's more personal. I mean, financial is usually not his M.O. But if you look at Twitter, Twitter's been an underperforming social media platform. Dorsey, the CEO, has moved to the background. Investors¹⁴ were up in arms. So Musk knew there was an opportunity to shake things up, which is why it was now or never. He hit - became No. 1 shareholder. And now, I think, in terms of Twitter's board, as well as their execs, spotlight's on them. Musk is not going to go away. And I think now this really starts to become a situation that - no one ever thought in a million years that Elon Musk would become a corporate¹⁵ raider of Twitter.

MARTINEZ: So for investors, then, is he becoming kind of like a knight¹⁶ in shining armor for the stockholder? I mean, is that where this is going?

IVES: In a Bizarro World, he's become the knight in shining armor for Twitter shareholders¹⁷. And for a company that's underperformed, you cannot argue the success he's had with SpaceX, Tesla and others. So whatever he touches turns to gold. Twitter now is in a situation, strategically, that the louder Musk gets - and if they continue to underperform, they're going to be forced into what I almost call an activist¹⁸ volcano situation. And that's why the stock's moved up so much since Musk came in. Him on the board would have been, ultimately, a storybook ending. It's not going to end up like that. And that's why, you know, this is going to be more of a street fight between Musk and Twitter.

MARTINEZ: And a bit of a roller coaster ride, as well. Dan Ives is a tech analyst with Wedbush Securities. Dan, thanks a lot.

IVES: Thanks.

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

5 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

6 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

7 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 muzzled   

给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的过去式和过去分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论

参考例句：

• The newspapers were effectively muzzled by strict censorship laws. 严厉的新闻审查法有效地使那些报纸沉默了下来。
• Whenever in the street our dog is muzzled. 每当上街时，我们的狗总是戴上嘴套。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 crescendo   

n.(音乐)渐强，高潮

参考例句：

• The gale reached its crescendo in the evening.狂风在晚上达到高潮。
• There was a crescendo of parliamentary and press criticism.来自议会和新闻界的批评越来越多。

13 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

14 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

16 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

17 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。