Bill Gates warned that Elon Musk could make Twitter "worse". He said this in response to the efforts of the CEO of Tesla to acquire Twitter worth USD 44 billion.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit on Wednesday (4/5), Gates said it was unclear how Musk would change Twitter if he took over ownership. Musk's efforts to own Twitter have also raised concerns about the spread of misinformation on the social media platform.
The Microsoft founder admits that Musk's track record at other companies is impressive. Gates praised Musk for doing a good job of assembling a great team of engineers at those companies.
"I kind of doubt it will happen this time (on Twitter). But we have to be open -minded and never underestimate Elon," he was quoted as saying by CNBC.
The tech billionaire's comments came after Musk accused him of selling Tesla shares last month. Musk also tweeted rude jokes about Gates. But Gates said the insult did not bother him.
Gates, who has been replaced by Musk as the richest man in the world in recent years, questioned what Musk's purpose in buying Twitter was, and whether his push to promote freedom of speech made sense.
"How does he feel about something (on Twitter) that says 'vaccines kill people' or that 'Bill Gates tracks people?'," Gates asked.
"What's the goal? What's the goal in the end? Does it fit with the idea of false information spreading so fast (and) weird conspiracy theories? Does he share that goal or not ?," Gates said.
Gates said he plans to set up a social media unit with 3,000 people to help disseminate accurate vaccine information in the future. He stressed that the "good message" needs to be conveyed by people trusted in society, such as political and ethnic leaders.
Over the past few weeks, Musk has hinted at some changes he will make after officially owning Twitter. He also alluded to the fact that he was promoting freedom of speech. Some time ago he also came up with the idea to start charging companies that use the platform.