Elon Musk says he'd let Trump back on Twitter

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday brought an end to the speculation and confirmed he would, in fact, undo former President Donald Trump's permanent suspension as the owner of newly-purchased Twitter.
"I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," Musk said at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit. "I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice."
Musk described the ex-president's ban as a "morally bad decision" that could undermine trust in Twitter, per The Wall Street Journal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If there are tweets that are wrong and bad, those should be either deleted or made invisible, and a suspension — a temporary suspension— is appropriate, but not a permanent ban," he continued, noting that ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey agrees with him.
What still remains to be seen, however, is whether Trump even opts to rejoin the platform under Musk's pending leadership. In April, Trump told Fox News he would actually refrain from reactivating his account and stick to his homegrown Truth Social, instead (though few actually believe that to be true).
Musk also on Tuesday acknowledged that his $44 billion purchase has yet to be finalized, meaning "this is not a thing that will definitely happen, because what if I don't own Twitter?"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Store closings could accelerate throughout 2025
Under the Radar Major brands like Macy's and Walgreens are continuing to shutter stores
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: February 20, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: February 20, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Elon Musk's DOGE website has gotten off to a bad start
In the Spotlight The site was reportedly able to be edited by anyone when it first came online
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What Trump's 'tech bros' want
The Explainer Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had 'prime seats' at the president's inauguration. What are they looking to gain from Trump 2.0?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Big tech's big pivot
Opinion How Silicon Valley's corporate titans learned to love Trump
By Theunis Bates Published
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the billionaire space race
The Explainer Tesla CEO and Amazon founder vie for dominance of satellite launch market and could influence Nasa plans to return to Moon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Appeals court kills FCC net neutrality rule
Speed Read A U.S. appeals court blocked Biden's effort to restore net-neutrality rules
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
David Sacks: the conservative investor who will be Trump's crypto and AI czar
In the Spotlight Trump appoints another wealthy ally to oversee two growing — and controversial — industries
By David Faris Published
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published