Elon Musk says he'd let Trump back on Twitter

Elon Musk.
(Image credit: Alexi Rosenfeld/GC Images)

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.

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"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?"

Brigid Kennedy

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.