Twitter to open source its algorithm next week

“Say what you want about me, but I acquired the world’s largest non-profit for $44B lol”

With advertisers flocking back to Twitter and  Tesla’s stock more than doubled its price since January, Elon Musk seems to be having fun on Twitter after he poked fun at himself for purchasing the social media platform for $44 billion.

Calling Twitter the world’s largest non-profit, Musk said in a tweet this afternoon:

“Say what you want about me, but I acquired the world’s largest non-profit for $44B lol.”

Say what you want about me, but I acquired the world’s largest non-profit for $44B lol

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2023

Musk was later asked to open-source Twitter algorithm for the world to see. A Twitter user by the name of Derek Smart said:

“Right. Now open source it, then we’ll be truly impressed.”

Musk responded saying “Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, but it will improve rapidly!”

Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, but it will improve rapidly!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2023

The decision to open up Twitter code to the public isn’t new. Shortly after he announced he wanted to buy Twitter, Musk made a comment in his TED interview in April 2022 that he wanted to open-source Twitter’s algorithm. Below’s what Musk said:

“One of the things that I believe Twitter should do is open source the algorithm, and make any changes to people’s tweets, if they are emphasized or de-emphasized, that action should be made apparent so anyone can see that that action has been taken. So there’s no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually.”

Musk’s decision to buy Twitter started in March 2022 when Musk said he was fed up with Twitter for its failure to promote free speech. A few months later, Musk took a 9.2% stake in Twitter for a total of about $2.89 billion before he finally acquired the social giant for $44 billion.