Responding To Tucker Carlson Show Announcement, Elon Musk Makes A Statement For Twitter

In response to an explosive announcement that the Tucker Carlson Show will be returning on Twitter, the owner and CEO of the platform, Elon Musk, took a moment to make some clarifications and end the rampant speculation that a cosmic alignment of Musk and Carlson was in the offing.

At 7:31 p.m. EST, Tuesday Carlson posted a video announcing in the caption, "We're back," with a promise to bring his content to a new platform which he described as the "last big one remaining in the world, the only one" that allows freedom of speech: Twitter. As of this writing, the clip at just under three minutes already has over 18 million views.
 

We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023

In response, and potentially heading off thousands of speculative articles, Musk quote-tweeted the video with a statement:
 

"On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said. And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.

I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.

Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content.

I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform."

On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said.

And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.

I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is… https://t.co/0TMjuYnKUp

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023

Twitter has been teasing a subscriber model since February, initially accepting applications from select content creators only. According to the FAQ, "If you[a content creator] are selected to participate in the Subscriptions program, people on the platform can pay Twitter to Subscribe to you. They’ll receive access to perks you include in your offering, such as bonus content and direct interactions with you. When Subscribers reply to you, you'll see a badge next to their name so it’s easier to identify and connect with them."  

It adds "You may get paid a share of revenue Twitter earns from people who pay to Subscribe to you."

Reportedly subscribers will also have access to Subscriber-only Spaces where "Subscriptions creators can host live subscriber-only conversations when they start a Space and select “Only Subscribers can join.” Essentially allowing any content creator in the program access to a built-in paywall for monetizing premium content.

Carlson didn't specify when the new programming would start, merely saying it would be "soon," and promising other content would be coming as well.

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