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As X\u2019s owner and most followed user, Elon Musk has increasingly used the social media platform as a microphone to amplify his political views<\/a> and, lately, those of right-wing figures he\u2019s aligned with<\/a>. There are few modern parallels to his antics, but then again there are few modern parallels to Elon Musk himself.<\/p>\n Of course, none of this should come as a surprise.<\/p>\n Back in 2022 when he was trying to buy Twitter, Musk said he was doing so because it wasn\u2019t living up to its potential as a \u201cplatform for free speech.\u201d Protecting free speech \u2014 not money \u2014 was his motivation because, as he put it, \u201chaving a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk often ruminates on the future of civilization. For one, he appears fixated on a coming \u201c\u00a0population collapse<\/a>,\u201d threatening to wipe out humanity. And he joined prominent scientists and tech leaders last year in\u00a0warning the world about artificial intelligence<\/a>\u00a0doing the same. Musk has framed threats to free speech as yet another existential crisis looming over the world. And he is going to try his best to save it.<\/p>\n \u201cFree speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,\u201d Musk said in an April 2022 post, adding\u00a0hearts, stars and rocket emojis<\/a>\u00a0to highlight the statement.<\/p>\n Two years on, the platform \u2014 now called X \u2014 has indeed become a haven for the type of free speech Musk has come to champion. In the U.S., he\u2019s spread memes \u2014 and sometimes misinformation \u2014 about illegal immigration, alleged election fraud and transgender policies, and he formally endorsed former President Donald Trump\u2019s presidential bid this summer.<\/p>\n In May 2023, he co-hosted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s official presidential bid announcement. That turned out to be\u00a0a disastrous rollout<\/a>\u00a0marred by technical glitches but it underscored Musk\u2019s desire to turn X into a \u201cdigital town square.\u201d After the event was marred by technical difficulties, Musk extended an open invitation to any other presidential candidate who wants to do one. Trump took him up on it, agreeing to an interview with the billionaire Tesla CEO on Monday evening. The conversation started with\u00a0technical glitches<\/a>\u00a0with people unable to join in and began some 42 minutes late.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve not been very political before,\u201d Musk said during his conversation with Trump.<\/p>\n Overseas \u2014 where most X users live \u2014 he\u2019s feuded with top officials in\u00a0Australia<\/a>,\u00a0Brazil<\/a>, the European Union and\u00a0the U.K.<\/a>\u00a0over the balance between free speech and the spread of harmful misinformation. And he\u00a0accused a political party<\/a>\u00a0in his native South Africa of \u201copenly pushing for genocide of white people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cElon Musk is a master of the media and controls one of the world\u2019s largest microphones. Musk understands the power of social media in shaping a political narrative,\u201d said Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg. \u201cThe concern is that as he pushes his own political agenda, X could suppress viewpoints that oppose Musk\u2019s own, either intentionally or by nature of the platform becoming more partisan. That could turn off users who feel marginalized on the platform, and disillusion some who may have earlier bought into his free speech mantra.\u201d<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s political shift playing out on X comes as other social media platforms, notably Meta\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, are shying away from politics. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has never endorsed a presidential candidate \u2014 and in February, the world\u2019s largest social media company announced it\u00a0would avoid recommending political content<\/a>\u00a0to people who don\u2019t already follow such accounts.<\/p>\n Lately, Zuckerberg appears to contrast Musk in other ways too. While as recently as January, the Facebook founder was testifying before Congress about the harm his platform has caused children, he seemed to have embraced a more stylish look that includes gold chains, longer curls and a beaming confidence coupled with slightly self-deprecating humor that seems to embrace his eccentricities. On July 4th, for instance, he posted a video of himself riding an electric surfboard, wearing a tuxedo and holding a can of beer in one hand and an American flag in the other. The online response was far more positive than to a 2021 surfing photo, where he\u2019s seen slathered in so much sunscreen it looks like he is wearing a white mask.<\/p>\n Musk, meanwhile, is veering from cool nerd territory into what\u00a0Kara Swisher<\/a>, the elder stateswoman of tech journalism, recently called \u201cthe Howard Hughes portion\u201d of an inevitable decline. He\u2019s sparring with those who disagree with him \u2014 be they foreign governments or people infected by what he calls the \u201cwoke mind virus.\u201d Last week, the\u00a0British government called on Elon Musk<\/a>\u00a0to act more responsibly after the tech billionaire used X to unleash a barrage of posts that risk inflaming violent unrest gripping the country.<\/p>\n Justice Minister Heidi Alexander made the comments after Musk posted a comment saying that \u201cCivil war is inevitable\u201d in the U.K. Musk later doubled down, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists and comparing Britain\u2019s crackdown on social media users to the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n Officials at X did not immediately respond to requests for comment<\/p>\n Of course, some of Musk\u2019s current battles over free speech are similar to those that the previous Twitter administration was fighting in repressive regimes that have, at times, restricted or blocked access to the platform to suppress dissent. In Venezuela, for instance, President Nicol\u00e1s\u00a0Maduro ordered a 10-day block<\/a>\u00a0on access to X in the country last week \u2014 the latest in a series of efforts by his government to try to suppress information sharing among people voicing doubts about his claim to victory in the\u00a0July 28 presidential election<\/a>. Maduro accused X of being used by his opponents to create political unrest, and gave the company 10 days to \u201cpresent their documents,\u201d but he gave no additional details.<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s antics are unlike any other Big Tech leader, and while it may be off-putting to a segment of his X user base, it could also attract eyeballs to his platform. Could this all be part of a broader plan? After all, despite publicly criticizing Musk\u2019s antics, those on\u00a0the left continue to use his platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cX has remained surprisingly resilient throughout the recent controversy,\u201d Enberg said. \u201cThat\u2019s in no small part due to consumer fascination with conspiracy theories and Elon Musk himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> The Fortune Next to Lead newsletter is a must-read for the next generation of C-suite leaders. Every Monday, the newsletter provides the strategies, resources, and expert insight needed to claim the most coveted positions in business. Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/div>\n