Sep 6, 2024
In a bold move, Brazil’s government has ordered the shutdown of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) within the country.
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary is not pleased with the decision.
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In an interview with Fox Business, O’Leary shared his unfiltered admiration for X’s owner, Elon Musk.
“As far as I'm concerned, Elon Musk is a modern day Bruce Wayne. I mean, this guy has been so successful in so many sectors, so I'm a huge fan,” he stated.
Musk has accomplished quite a few things, from revolutionizing the electric vehicle industry with Tesla to advancing space exploration with SpaceX and launching ambitious projects like Neuralink.
While O’Leary praised Musk’s exceptional execution skills, it’s Musk’s attitude that impressed him most. “He's also got another trait, which I find very endearing, and you may or may not like this — he's a real poo-poo disturber, if you know what I mean. He just doesn't give a poo-poo.”
So, what does that mean? O’Leary elaborated, explaining that Musk “doesn't care what country, what dictator, what leader, what judiciary. If they don’t want his technology… he’s happy to shut it off.”
‘He can do whatever he likes’
Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and rebranded it as X in 2023. According to O’Leary, the company’s private status gives Musk full control over its direction.
“He owns it. He controls it. It's private. He can do whatever he likes,” O’Leary remarked.
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O’Leary acknowledged Brazil's rapid economic growth, which makes it an attractive market for many businesses. However, he issued a cautionary message to the country's leadership regarding the decision to ban X.
“You got a lot of people that like [the] internet and like social media, [so] be careful [of] the eggshells you're walking on, Lulu,” he said, referring to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The tension between X and Brazil began in April when the country’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of several accounts on X for allegedly spreading misinformation. X did not comply with the directive.
Responding to the ban, Musk commented: "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."
In an interview with a local news station, Lula da Silva defended the government’s stance, stating, “Any citizen, from any part of the world, who has investments in Brazil is subject to the Brazilian Constitution and Brazilian laws.”
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He also addressed Musk directly, adding, “He can't go around insulting presidents, deputies, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Supreme Court. Who does he think he is?”
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‘That hurts the country’
O’Leary predicts that Brazil’s leadership will face repercussions from this decision.
“If you look at the history of those kinds of situations, the outcomes are not good for the Lula's,” he stated.
O’Leary emphasized that people value technology and the ability to communicate with each other, and platforms like X are central to that.
Despite the current tension, O’Leary remains optimistic that the ban will be lifted.
“I think this thing will be resolved, because when you start shutting down commerce in where there's so much productivity and opportunity in the Amazon, that hurts the country,” he said.
For O’Leary, the economic implications of restricting communication and technological platforms are too severe for Brazil to ignore, making a resolution likely.
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Jing is an investment reporter for MoneyWise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
