Elon Musk Defends Buying Twitter: ‘I Am Trying to Do

[]

The method behind the mega-purchase. Elon Musk made headlines around the world when he bought Twitter — and now he’s explaining why he did it.

“I do do a lot of things philanthropically,” the 50-year-old billionaire told Entertainment Tonight at the 2022 Met Gala in New York City on Monday, May 2, defending himself from critics who’ve suggested he could have spent the $44 billion on something charitable instead. “Really, my companies are intended to do good for the future of humanity.”

{ let bidders = [‘a9’, ‘ix’, ‘iris’]; // create a requestManager to keep track of bidder state to determine when to send ad server // request and what amazonSlots to request from the ad server var requestManager = { adserverRequestSent: false, }; //loop through bidder array and add the bidders to the request manager: bidders.forEach( function( bidder ) { requestManager[bidder] = false; } ); // return true if all bidders have returned function allBiddersBack() { var allBiddersBack = bidders // get the booleans from the object .map( function( bidder ) { return requestManager[bidder]; } ) // get rid of false values – indicates that the bidder has responded .filter( Boolean ) // if length is equal to bidders, all bidders are back .length === bidders.length; return allBiddersBack; } // handler for header bidder responses function headerBidderBack( bidder ) { // return early if request to adserver is already sent if ( requestManager.adserverRequestSent === true ) { return; } // flip bidder back flag if ( bidder === ‘a9’ ) { requestManager.a9 = true; console.log(‘second promise a9 ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘ix’ ) { requestManager.ix = true; console.log(‘second promise ix ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘iris’ ) { requestManager.iris = true; console.log(‘second promise iris ready’); } // if all bidders are back, send the request to the ad server if ( allBiddersBack() ) { resolve( url ); } } if ( typeof apstag == ‘object’ && apstag ) { apstag.fetchBids({ slots: [{ slotID: window.prerollTag[vHash], mediaType: ‘video’ }] }, function( bids ) { console.log( “AMI jwp amazon bid callback”, new Date().getTime(), bids ); window.jwpBids[vHash].amazon = true; if ( bids.length > 0 ) { //If we have received any bids back try { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon bid request ad”, bids[0].encodedQsParams); url = url + ‘&scp=’ + bids[0].encodedQsParams; } catch ( e ) { console.log(e); } } else { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon no bids”); } headerBidderBack(‘a9’); }); } else { headerBidderBack(‘a9’); } headertag.cmd.push( function() { headertag.retrieveVideoDemand( [{‘htSlotName’: ‘preroll’}], function( demand ) { console.log( “AMI jwp IX callback”, demand ); if ( ‘undefined’ !== typeof demand.preroll && demand.preroll.length ){ window.jwpBids[vHash].ixBids = demand.preroll[0].targeting.price; console.log( ‘AMI jwp IX Bids’, new Date().getTime(), demand.preroll[0].targeting ); var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } var keys = Object.keys( demand.preroll[0].targeting.price ); for ( var key of keys ) { custParams.set( key, demand.preroll[0].targeting.price[key][0]); } vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, custParams.toString() ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘ix’); } ); } ); // Get main item context data window.irisContext.getContext(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem().mediaid).then(function(data) { // Encode the context data console.log( ‘AMI jwp IrisTV Bids’, new Date().getTime(), data.context ); // Replace the server url with the context data (this is for simple ad requests), // If you have the serverUrl dynamically configured, then you will need to append the context data // under cust_params, so this is just for testing purpose if ( data.context && Object.keys( data.context ).length ) { var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } custParams.set( ‘iris_context’, data.context.join(‘,’)); vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, decodeURIComponent( custParams.toString() ) ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘iris’); }); setTimeout(function(){ resolve( url ); }, 10000); }); } var player_jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div = jwplayer(el).setup(videoParams).on(“ready”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer( playerInstance, { publisherId: “6036076”, labelmapping: “ns_st_pu=”AMI”, c3=”Us Weekly”, ns_st_ge=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ia=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ce=”” + decodeURIComponent( “1” ) + “”, ns_st_ddt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_tdt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “””, }); }).on(‘adsManager’, (e) => { var vHash = ‘ami’ + decodeURIComponent( ‘KsvI9BrL’ ); const { adsManager, videoElement } = e; const iasConfig = { anId: ‘928572’, campId: `${jwplayer().getWidth()}x${jwplayer().getHeight()}`, // This is dynamic based on player dimensions, but can be hard coded chanId: window.prerollTag[vHash], placementId: ‘Open Auction’, pubOrder: ‘Video’, pubId: ‘Direct’ }; if (googleImaVansAdapter) { googleImaVansAdapter.init(window.google, adsManager, videoElement, iasConfig); } }).on( ‘time’, function( e ) { var id = this.id; var pct = Math.round( e.position ); if ( ! window.amiPlayersData ) { window.amiPlayersData = {}; } if ( ! window.amiPlayersData[id] ) { window.amiPlayersData[id] = { m3: false, m10: false }; } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] === false && pct >= 3 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] = true; console.log( ‘3sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ‘3s played’} ); } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] === false && pct >= 10 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] = true; console.log( ’10sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ’10s played’} ); } }).on( ‘complete’, function( e ) { if ( window.amiPlayersData && window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ] ) { window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m3’] = false; window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m10’] = false; console.log( ‘clear played: ‘, this.id ); } }).once(“play”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); loadIrisPlugin(playerInstance, playerInstance.getConfig().plugins[“https://ovp.iris.tv/plugins/jwplayer/v2/iris-jwplayer8.adaptive.min.js”]) }).on(‘play’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language:”English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video play”); }).on(‘complete’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoComplete”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; }).on(‘time’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.currentTime/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 === progress && false === window.lock_25) || (0.5 === progress && false === window.lock_50) || (0.75 === progress && false === window.lock_75) || (100 === progress && false === window.lock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 === progress ) { window.lock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 === progress ) { window.lock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 === progress ) { window.lock_75 = true; } if ( 1 === progress ) { window.lock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video play progress ” + progress); } }).on(‘mute’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.mute) ? “sound off” : “sound on”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘fullscreen’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.fullscreen) ? “fullscreen on” : “fullscreen off”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘ready’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); console.log(jwInfo); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoLoad”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video load event”); }).on(‘adPlay’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); window.adInfo = e; var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.adlock_25 = false; window.adlock_50 = false; window.adlock_75 = false; window.adlock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoAdPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad play”); }).on(‘adClick’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoAdClick”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad click”); }).on(‘adTime’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.position/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 >= progress && false === window.adlock_25) || (0.5 >= progress && false === window.adlock_50) || (0.75 >= progress && false === window.adlock_75) || (0.95 >= progress && false === window.adlock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoAdProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “KsvI9BrL” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 >= progress ) { window.adlock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 >= progress ) { window.adlock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 >= progress ) { window.adlock_75 = true; } if ( 0.95 >= progress ) { window.adlock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video ad progress ” + progress); } }).setPlaylistItemCallback(function(item, index) { return waitForAmazon // Wait until Amazon is loaded. .then(() => performAsyncBidding( player_jwplayer_KsvI9BrL_zhNYySv2_div, item, index ), () => { console.log(“AMI JWP bidding FAILER”); }) // External bidding. .then(tag => { // Update the playlist item. console.log(“AMI jwp new headerbid”, tag); return Object.assign({}, item, { adschedule: [{ tag, offset: “pre” }] }); }).catch(function(e){ console.log(“AMI jwp bidding failed”, e); return item; }); // If bidding fails, use unmodified playlist item. });; clearInterval(checkJWReady); } }, 500); })(); ]]>

The South Africa native went on to cite Tesla as an example of how he’s “trying to accelerate the advances in sustainable transport and energy,” adding that SpaceX — in addition to attempting to put humans on Mars — is “providing internet to the lesser [served] people of the world.”

Musk also claimed that his company’s Starlink terminals are helping to “give connectivity” in the “hardest hit” areas of Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia. “So, aspirationially, I am trying to do good for humanity and the future of civilization,” he continued.

The Tesla founder attended the “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” Met Gala with his mother, Maye Musk, who joked that her son won’t take her advice. “I told him not to take on the world and the universe and he didn’t listen,” the model, 74, told ET. “He doesn’t listen to his mom.”

Elon struck a deal to buy Twitter on April 25 after days of tweeting about what he would do with the company if it were his. “Free 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,” he said in a statement announcing the deal. “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

The purchase sparked concern among politicians and cultural critics, many of whom worry that the entrepreneur will roll back some of the social media site’s community standards that are designed to protect users from abuse.

“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans,” he continued in his statement.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who has been outspoken about reining in billionaires’ power, slammed the deal as “dangerous” for United States democracy. “Billionaires like Elon Musk play by a different set of rules than everyone else, accumulating power for their own gain,” she tweeted last month. “We need a wealth tax and strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable.”

Listen to Us Weekly’s Hot Hollywood as each week the editors of Us break down the hottest entertainment news stories!

Read The Full Article Here