He is the richest person in the world, but also one of the most controversial and increasingly

engaged in polarizing political debates.

A new book details the tumultuous leadership of Elon Musk and his approach to owning the social The huge deal to buy what was then known as Twitter.

Ali Roggan has that conversation for our bookshelf series.

The $44 billion deal gave Elon Musk total control

of one of the most influential media platforms in the world.

Now X, the company, and its site have changed dramatically.

New York Times Technology Reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac are co-authors of Character Limit, how Elon Musk destroyed Twitter.

And they join me now.

Thank you both so much.

Elon Musk, as you relay in the book, characterized himself as the savior of Twitter.

What did he think was wrong with it and why did he feel like he needed to come in and save it?

Elon Musk really disagreed with a lot of the content moderation decisions that were

being made by Twitter's former leadership. There were accounts being banned

that he disagreed with and he just wanted a more free-flowing platform that allowed

different kinds of speech.

So when he sought out the deal, he said he didn't care

about the finances of it.

He didn't care if he made money.

He just sort of wanted Twitter as an ideological tool.

And what did free speech mean to Elon Musk?

Because it certainly seemed to end up meaning

...