Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and former CEO, said Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the social media company “is the right path” forward.
“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter,” Dorsey tweeted Monday night. “It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
Dorsey started a Twitter thread reacting to Musk’s deal to buy Twitter and take it private, sharing the Radiohead song “Everything Is In Its Right Place.”
Dorsey, who now heads digital payments company Block, formerly known as Square, pledged to help protect Twitter.
“Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret,” he wrote. “It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.”
He also thanked Musk and current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal for “getting the company out of an impossible situation.”
Musk and Dorsey appear to be on friendly terms.
On April 5, before Musk decided against joining Twitter’s board, Dorsey tweeted he was “happy” to welcome Musk as a director.
“He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it,” Dorsey tweeted. “Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team.”
In February 2019, Dorsey told tech columnist Kara Swisher — in an interview via tweet — that Musk was the most exciting person on Twitter at the time.
“I like how @elonmusk uses Twitter,” Dorsey said. “He’s focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking openly. I respect that a lot, and all the ups and downs that come with it.”
Dorsey stepped down as Twitter CEO in November, saying he wanted the company “to break away from its founding and founders.” He appointed Agrawal as his successor.
“My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep,” Dorsey wrote at the time.
Agrawal made no mention of Musk in his tweet commenting on the deal, choosing to instead praise Twitter employees.
“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” Agrawal wrote.
In an all-hands meeting of Twitter employees that followed the announcement, Agrawal acknowledged a period of uncertainty.
“Between now and closing … we will continue making decisions as we’ve always had, guided by the principles we’ve had,” Agrawal said, according to a recording of the call obtained by CNN. “That doesn’t mean things won’t change, things have been changing.”