Musk gets Twitter for $44 billion, to cheers and fears of 'free speech' plan

Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday

promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform

 where he — the world's richest person — promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on a wide range of issues to more than 83 million followers

It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world's most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges.

Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, has criticized Twitter's moderation

He wants Twitter's algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be public and objects to giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise.

"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," Musk said in a statement.

Musk is now $100B Richer Than Jeff Bezos