The annual conference of media and technology executives this week was shocked by Elon Musk’s attendance at the Allen & Co Sun Valley Conference; usually, the news-making takes place away from the prying eyes of the media.
Less than 24 hours after he made the announcement that he was canceling his $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter Inc., Musk is slated to be questioned live on stage at the Sun Valley Lodge resort on Saturday. The four-day conference’s talk was rapidly dominated by the news.
Under the condition of anonymity, a top media executive remarked, “It just seems like an awful nightmare.” The individual sets his own rules. I would detest being on Twitter, where you would have to take this man seriously.
Sun Valley is frequently covered like an athleisure version of the Met Gala, with photographers catching the visits of media moguls wearing fleece, and journalists noting power lunches at the Konditorei cafe on the premises.
One Hollywood power player expressed optimism on Friday that the Musk interview would spice up the conference’s dreary, academic tone.
Musk announced his intention to cancel the acquisition of Twitter in an eight-page letter that was submitted to Twitter by his attorneys a few hours later. In the document, which was sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was claimed that Twitter had ignored repeated requests for information over the previous two months and had never asked for his permission before terminating two senior executives, among other business-impacting decisions.
Up until that moment, discussions in the media centered on Wall Street’s revision of its assessment of the streaming industry following Netflix Inc’s subscriber losses. Hollywood, which has generally been immune to recessions, is reportedly now concerned about how a worsening economy could damage their multi-billion dollar investments in streaming services, according to one digital media executive.
The digital media executive stated, referring to customers quitting a service, that “for the first time, people are aware the economy does touch the entertainment business.” “Wow, will people really pay for three of these things,” many are now asking?
Following Musk’s announcement, one top executive pointed out the obvious: Saturday’s words might make Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal uncomfortable.
In response to Agrawal’s defense of how Twitter handles spam bots, Musk sent one of his final tweets to the CEO in the shape of a feces emoji.
