Rumors have started circulating following President-elect Donald Trump's election victory that billionaire Elon Musk may merge X, formerly Twitter, with Trump's social media platform, Truth Social.
X has approximately 611 million active monthly users and is valued at around $9.4 billion. In recent weeks, Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), has surged past X Holdings, valued at $10 billion.
Following Trump's victory in this year's presidential election, in which he secured both the popular vote and more Electoral College votes than Vice President Kamala Harris, some have raised concerns about what a potential partnership between Musk, a vocal supporter of the president-elect, and Trump could look like.
During an interview appearance on CNN on Wednesday, Kara Swisher, a business and internet journalist, said, "I would suspect he would try to merge Truth Social" with X.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign, TMTG andTesla's communications team for comment from Musk on Friday.
Trump created Truth Social in early 2022 after he was banned from other social media platforms, notably Twitter, for violating its rules following the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot and "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
Trump and many Republicans maintained claims that the 2020 election was stolen via widespread voter fraud, despite this claim being rejected repeatedly in court and by independent election experts. On January 6, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory, triggering violence in the process, which led to one person being shot dead by police and the injuries of dozens of officers.
Trump has since been allowed back on what is now known as X, but he most often posts on Truth Social. The platform prides itself on protecting free speech and having less moderation and restrictions than other mainstream platforms.
"They [Trump and Musk] could merge them and make it a meme stock and make a lot of money for themselves. That could be interesting and incredibly corrupt," Swisher added during her CNN appearance on Wednesday.
Meme stocks are shares of a company that are heavily influenced by social media, particularly Reddit, with many users orchestrating massive buying sprees. These actions led to significant short squeezes, where short sellers were forced to purchase stocks at high prices to cover their positions, further driving up stock prices.
In 2021, this not only disrupted traditional market dynamics but also prompted scrutiny from regulators and discussions about market fairness and the role of social media in stock trading.
"He'll use it as a propaganda organ which is precisely why he bought it," Swisher said.
Musk has repeatedly posted political and, at times, unverified information on X.
Last month, he offered monetary prizes to swing state voters who sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. Sums of $100 for signing or referring are offered in Pennsylvania.
Leading up to the election, Musk's political action committee America PAC, pulled winners of the $1 million lottery. There have been around 10 winners posted on the PAC's X account, hailing from Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
On Friday's episode of the podcast Pivot, which Scott Galloway, a New York University professor, co-hosts with Swisher, he said Swisher's speculation about the merger would offer a way "to funnel billions of dollars from Musk to Donald Trump, legally, as far as I can tell."
Meanwhile, some social media users have echoed similar ideas, with screenwriter Adam Best posting on X on Thursday, "Who else thinks that Truth Social and Twitter are gonna merge and make this place even worse?"
Daniel Mirkin, the CEO of Trade Ideas, also posted on X on Thursday, "@elonmusk will merge Truth Social and X and use the stock $DJT as the conduit FOR BOTH! @realDonaldTrump will make that deal happen it is a win win for everyone and Elon will be busy cleaning."
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