美国国家公共电台 NPR--Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter

Elon Musk¹ wants to buy Twitter

Transcript²

The maverick³ billionaire Elon Musk says he wants to buy Twitter and take it private. He's already Twitter's largest shareholder⁴ and has been a persistent⁵ critic of the platform's speech policies.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The maverick billionaire Elon Musk says he wants to buy Twitter - the whole thing. It's a blockbuster move by Musk, who is one of Twitter's most dedicated⁶ users and also one of its most persistent critics. We're joined now by NPR's David Gura, who's been following this morning's developments. Hi, David.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE⁷: Hey, Leila.

FADEL: So, David, what exactly is Musk proposing here?

GURA: Well, Elon Musk lays out his proposal in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He announced it with a tweet. I made an offer, he wrote, with a link to the filing. Musk is Twitter's largest shareholder, and he wants to buy the rest of Twitter's stock. He says he's willing to pay $43 billion, which is a premium⁸ for the company - about 15% more than it's trading at right now. You know, appended to this filing is a letter. Musk wrote the chairman of Twitter's board. And in that letter, he says Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. And Musk goes on to argue in that letter that the company has, as he puts it, extraordinary potential, and he will unlock it.

FADEL: Wow, a $43 billion offer. Does Twitter have potential that can be unlocked?

GURA: Well, Twitter has not been as wildly successful as some of the other big social media companies. I mean, just compare it to Facebook, for instance. Twitter has just over 200 million users, which is significantly less than what Facebook has - more than 2 billion. But many of Twitter's users are dedicated. They use it fanatically, like Musk does himself. On Twitter, he has more than 81 million followers⁹. But he's made a point that there are a lot of users who could be using the site even more. Just a few days ago, Musk posted a list of the 10 most-followed accounts on Twitter, including former President Obama, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry. And Musk suggested they tweet rarely and post very little content. And he ended that tweet by asking, quite provocatively¹¹, is Twitter dying?

FADEL: So what are Musk's other criticisms of Twitter?

GURA: It continues to be this roiling¹² debate about free speech and social media and the role companies could play or should play in policing these platforms. Elon Musk has called himself a free speech absolutist, and this is something he also addressed in that letter to the chairman of Twitter's board. Musk wrote, I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative¹³ for a functioning democracy. Right now, Musk argues, Twitter is not living up to that potential.

FADEL: So Musk is known for his antics and provocative¹⁰ comments and tweets. Should this offer be taken seriously?

GURA: Well, we'll see. I mean, it's been less than two weeks since Elon Musk became Twitter's largest shareholder. He bought just over 9% of the company. And then Twitter invited him on to its board. After that, there was a lot of speculation¹⁴ about what that would mean for how the company is run. And then there was a surprise announcement, just a few days later, from Twitter's still fairly new CEO that Musk had changed his mind. He wasn't going to join the board. So there's a lot of theater here. This is a takeover attempt, and Twitter has to take this bid seriously. Forty-three billion dollars is well over what Twitter is valued at currently. Musk's offering to buy it at a premium, as I said.

And there's some history here worth revisiting. Elon Musk, who is, of course, the founder¹⁵ and the CEO of Tesla, once said on Twitter, back in 2018, am considering taking Tesla private at $420 - funding secured. That tweet got him into a lot of trouble. And Tesla, of course, is still a public company. The last thing I'm going to say is we got to keep in mind Musk is the richest person in the world. He is worth north of $250 billion. So there is no question $43 billion for Twitter is something that Elon Musk could afford.

FADEL: Wow. NPR's David Gura, thanks.

GURA: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

4 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。

5 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

9 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

10 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

11 provocatively   

参考例句：

• Democracy or dictatorship, the golden ships still hung in the sky and shone provocatively. 民主也好，独裁也罢，那些金晃晃的飞船依然高悬天际，闪熠发光，向我们挑衅。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

12 roiling   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• Now, all that could be seen was the roiling, lead--coloured sea, with its thunderously heaving waves. 狂风挟着暴雨如同弥漫大雾，排挞呼号，在海上恣意奔驶。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Rather, it is a roiling, seething cauldron of evanescent particles. 相反，它是一个不断翻滚、剧烈沸腾的大锅，内有逐渐消失的粒子。 来自互联网

13 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

14 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

15 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。