Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company (left) / Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images (right)
- Elon Musk deleted a series of tweets about Ye's Parler purchase.
- Musk tweeted a meme that showed himself, Donald Trump, and Ye as the Three Musketeers on Tuesday.
- If Musk and Ye close their deals, all three men will have their own social media sites.
Elon Musk posted and then deleted a series of tweets expressing support for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and his purchase of the right-wing social media app, Parler.
In the most recent tweet, Musk posted headshots of himself, the rapper, and former president Donald Trump superimposed over the titular characters from "The Three Musketeers."
What's more, at the tip of each figure's sword, the names of each of their respective social media companies is listed, from Parler to Truth Social and Musk's own mysterious "X" platform. The billionaire recently made a U-turn on his decision to purchase Twitter, but he has hinted he could either turn Twitter into X or launch an entirely new platform.
If Musk goes through with his Twitter purchase later this month, and if Ye closes his deal to purchase Parler, all three billionaires will have their own social media sites.
"In retrospect, it was inevitable," Musk tweeted.
The tweet came only a few hours after Musk deleted a previous post that appeared to support Ye's Parler purchase and even potentially hinted at future collaboration between Parler and Twitter.
On Monday, Musk tweeted a meme that riffed on "Dragon Ball Z" — an anime show where two characters can perform something called the "Fusion Dance" and merge into a single more powerful being by touching fingers. In the image Musk and Ye's faces were superimposed onto the meme, with Twitter and Parler logos on their clothes and the words "Wait for it."
Musk responded to his own tweet: "Fun times ahead!" The billionaire later deleted both tweets.
The billionaire's response to Ye and his plans for Parler could indicate how Musk hopes to handle censorship on Twitter. The billionaire often refers to Twitter as a "town square" and has said he is against censorship that "goes far beyond the law." He has also said he plans to reinstate several accounts that the company has previously banned, including Trump.
Last week, Musk said he reached out to Ye after the rapper posted an antisemitic tweet and was locked out of his Twitter account. He said he "talked to Ye" and expressed his "concerns about his recent tweet," which Musk said the rapper "took to heart."
While Musk has been critical of how Twitter handles censorship, the billionaire isn't a fan of Truth Social. Earlier this month, the Tesla CEO dubbed Trump's social media site a "right-wing echo chamber" that might as well be called "Trumpet."
And Parler — which promotes itself as a conservative alternative to Twitter — appears to have a similar mission. Much like Truth Social, Parler is smaller than Twitter and caters toward a conservative userbase. Parler has been downloaded about 11.3 million times globally, according to a January report from Sensor Tower. In contrast, Twitter has over 238 million daily active users as of July.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Ye said he wants Parler to be a platform for people who were "bullied by the thought police."
The conservative social media platform first came into the spotlight in 2021 after the siege on the US Capitol when users took to the social-media platform to post violent content. At the time, Google and Apple banned Parler from their stores. Though, the app returned to Apple App Store later that year and Google Play in September.
source https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-meme-kanye-donald-trump-three-musketeers-parler-2022-10