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Elon MuskPhoto by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME

(LifeSiteNews) – The world’s most interesting billionaire – Elon Musk – has just bought a major share of Twitter and is now the platform’s largest shareholder.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s power move is eccentric, to say the least, but it seems he hinted at his intentions in a tweet from March 25.

After asking the opinion of his 80 million followers, he added to the thread: “The consequences of this poll will be important.”

Well, Musk may have been asking his followers that question to achieve some sort of general consensus on Twitter.

Polls can be misleading – and in fact often are – but if there was ever a man with an intellectually diverse set of followers it is Musk. He is followed by right-wingers for his ability to make leftist hacks look silly, but he is also something like a Big Tech superhero, which the San Francisco leftists love.

In addition, his Twitter account is so powerful that the financial powers-that-be have said in the past that his tweets about his companies’ financial interests have broken laws due to their massive influence on markets.

The point is, Elon Musk is one of the biggest names in business and popular culture in the world, and he is very much a culture creator with much of what he does.

In a world where Big Tech oligarchs have the power to cancel and ban everyone including the President of the United States, might Elon Musk be the reformer who will redeem Big Tech for conservatives?

We should first consider all he brings to the table when it comes to his views.

It might not be a good thing

Lest I come off as a Musk fan-boy and unabashedly in favor of his social media move, let us consider why it might not be a good thing.

First, Musk – for all that is positive about him – is not a cultural conservative in the truest sense. Sure, he is good on individual liberty, which we will consider further down; however, he hasn’t really established himself as a social conservative on key issues.

His religious beliefs are squishy, and he has been equally as squishy on abortion. It is also hard to find what his opinion is on same-sex civil unions.

Things could be said about his personal life and marital situation, but we attempt to be serious journalists here, so gossip about a man’s dalliances and home life are none of my business.

Another thing that may be off-putting about him is he did say that the COVID jab was a good thing to get, and that it was “unequivocal” that the science behind the experimental shot was sound.

That said, as far as billionaires go, Elon Musk might be the best possible influencer we could hope for.

It is likely a great thing he is moving into social media

For all that is negative about Musk, I must admit that it is a stretch to say that because he is squishy or vague on certain issues that this means he is for immoral or anti-Christian things.

He has not shown himself to be anti-Christian in any sense, as was demonstrated by hanging out and joking with the Babylon Bee crowd who made no effort to hide their attempt – even if a bit in jest – to convert him.

His willingness to appear on the Bee cannot be understated, as that outlet is clearly right-wing and a Christian conservative group, even if satirical. They recently had their Twitter account banned. I wonder if that will change with Musk’s influence.

Furthermore, he said clearly that he is anti-mandate regarding vaccines, which is a good thing. Ineffectiveness and dangers/moral issues with the jab notwithstanding, it is the mandates that have been the hardest for average people to deal with. Being on the right side of history when it comes to personal liberty regarding medical issues is a real positive.

In addition, leftist outlets often hate him, which bodes well for social conservatives; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Vanity Fair almost had an aneurism when he decided to move his company to Texas knowing full well that Texas had severely reduce abortion access in the state.

And, whatever his views on homosexual unions might be, I cannot find anything he has said that supports any woke sexual politics. In fact, he has no fun poking fun at woke politicking, even using the sacrosanct rainbow flag as part of a joke.

Free Speech absolutist

Putting aside the debate of what should be the limits of certain speech in public or online, Musk tweeted on March 5 that he is a “free speech absolutist.”

Not only did he affirm his commitment to free speech, but he refused to go along with the Russia-Ukraine narrative in the tweet.

Again, regardless of the varying opinions on Russia and Ukraine, the fact that he did not bow to another leftist sacred cow – unilateral support for sanctioning Russia – shows that he really doesn’t care what others say or want him to do, even when Big Tech, Big Government, and Big Hollywood want the opposite.

Of course, full free-speech absolutism is a difficult thing to manage with a social media company, as illegal activity can take place; nonetheless, it is his opinion that people should not be censored for the petty reasons that they have been on Twitter and other places.

Big Tech reformer?

So, is he the Big Tech reformer?

Honestly, he might be.

He doesn’t have to actually be a Christian conservative to be a hero for right wingers, he just has not to be an evil dictator.

The reason that the left censors counter-narratives and conservative ideas is because they know the ideas are powerful.

The truth is captivating, and it converts people, both religiously and politically.

There is no real way to go after Big Tech — unless you have the means to do so, and no man has better means for that task than Musk. He has both the attitude, the hundreds of billions of dollars, and social influence to do so.

Sure, there are some valiant folks out there who try to combat Big Tech, but realistically speaking, the odds of a real Twitter competitor arising are slim as it would be like toppling a government.

So, if Musk can force the platform to allow dissenting opinions, this may be the best hope we have for a more honest atmosphere.

Cascading effect

Lastly, if Twitter moves more towards free speech, it could have a cascading effect on other platforms.

Twitter is not a Google company, like YouTube, and it is not a Meta company like Facebook.

What if Twitter partnered with Rumble? Or if Twitter updated its video service to be more of a YouTube competitor?

Anything is possible under Musk, and part of me thinks he has already thought of this.

There is always a market correction of some sort, and he might just be the agent of correction.

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Kennedy Hall is an Ontario based journalist for LifeSiteNews. He is married with children and has a deep love for literature and political philosophy. He is the author of Terror of Demons: Reclaiming Traditional Catholic Masculinity, a non-fiction released by TAN books, and Lockdown with the Devil, a fiction released by Our Lady of Victory Press. He writes frequently for Crisis Magazine, Catholic Family News, and is on the editorial board at OnePeterFive.

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