Mark Cuban wants to buy X from Elon Musk, and a flurry of his fans are begging him to do so.
The “Shark Tank” billionaire told Wired that he’d buy the social media platform and Fox News “in a heartbeat,” if he could afford them and if they were up for sale.
There’s just one problem with that plan — Musk “wouldn’t sell it,” Cuban said.
That hasn’t stopped users on the platform from asking him to “save us” and to “rid us of that man” in response to the interview.
“I wish I could. There’s no reason for him to sell it,” Cuban told Wired of Musk
Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion. He subsequently fired chunks of its staff — notably within its content moderation teams — and rechristened it to X. Since then, the platform has faced criticism for becoming a misinformation and far-right propaganda cesspool.
The Tesla CEO himself is unafraid of using the platform as a megaphone to sermonise his own conservative views.
Bradford Ferguson, president and chief investment officer of asset manager Halter Ferguson Financial, said in comments posted to YouTube on Wednesday that X’s revenue has collapsed by 84% since Musk’s takeover.
To be sure, some X users also urged Cuban to stay away from the platform, saying his buying it will restrict “free-speech.”
Donald Trump
X is big in the crypto community. Many industry pundits and Musk himself have come out in support of Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election.
Cuban is a crypto enthusiast. He and several crypto investors actively support Kamala Harris in the presidential election. In September, he was one of 88 corporate leaders who signed an open letter to endorse Harris.
“When I talk to Trumpers, I’m like, ‘Look, the guy rips off hard-working Americans and takes pride in it. Is that who you want?’” Cuban told Wired.
Cuban’s stance has courted a backlash from those in the crypto community who have sided with Trump. For instance, crypto analytics company Messari’s co-founder Ryan Selkis even challenged Cuban to duke it out.
“I have no idea what his deal is,” Cuban told DL News in response to Selkis’ comments.
Selkis stepped down as CEO of Messari in July, saying his “politics and rhetoric put the team in harm’s way.”
Cuban also told Wired that he is “helping Harris vocally” to swing votes in certain issues like crypto.
He argued that crypto could help those in the margins make a “substantial change” to their net worth, but that strict policies like those evangelised by Gensler could hurt those prospects.
Eric Johansson is DL News’ News Editor. Got a tip? Email at eric@dlnews.com