Elon Musk Puts YouTube on Notice, Hints at Partnership with Burgeoning Rival Video Platform
Twitter might not be the only tech platform in the sights of megabillionaire Elon Musk.
Musk suggested he’d be willing to consider a partnership with Rumble, a streaming service considered to be one of YouTube’s most pressing competitors, in a series of Wednesday tweets.
The Tesla CEO responded to actor and populist commentator Russell Brand, after Brand posted a video explaining why he was moving his video show to Rumble. Brand encouraged his viewers to move to Rumble with him in response to YouTube’s censorship of his content.
Good point
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2022
The entrepreneur suggested that he’d be willing to consider working with Rumble in the future.
Musk was responding to an inquiry from Chris Pavlovski, Rumble’s CEO.
Maybe worth talking at some point
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 28, 2022
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Musk did douse the idea with cold water in response to a question from conservative commentator Dan Bongino. The engineer all but admitted he’s preoccupied with a legal battle with Twitter, having agreed to purchase the censorious Big Tech platform.
I’m a little preoccupied rn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2022
Free-speech supporters didn’t miss Musk’s interest in Rumble, with some pointing to the development as a potential milestone in restoring internet freedom.
The future just unfolded and you are here to see it.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) September 28, 2022
Musk’s Twitter acquisition was complicated by litigation after he reached a deal to become the platform’s new owner.
Musk alleges that Twitter’s value is inflated by the presence of fake bot accounts, claiming that the company is defrauding advertisers by presenting their content to a padded audience.
Court proceedings on Musk’s stalled deal with Twitter are slated for October, with Twitter’s lawyers seeking to compel Musk to finish his acquisition of the company.
Rumble recently began trading publicly on the stock market, according to Observer.com.
The streaming service has proven its own enduring appeal as other platforms hoping to compete with Big Tech have failed to seize market share.
The company attained an average monthly user base of 44 million in the second quarter of 2022, according to an internal news release.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
