Musk's past tweets reveal clues about Twitter's new owner

He may be good with rockets and electric cars, but don't turn to Elon Musk for public health predictions.

“Probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April,” the world's richest man tweeted about COVID-19 in March 2020, just as the pandemic was ramping up.

It's one of many tweets that offer a glimpse into the mind of Twitter's new owner and moderator in chief. Playful, aggressive and sometimes reckless, Musk's past tweets show how he has used social media to tout his businesses, punch back at critics and burnish his brand as a brash billionaire who is unafraid to speak his mind.

Musk joined Twitter in 2009 and now has more than 112 million followers — the third most of any account after former president Barack Obama and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. He had long mused about purchasing the platform before the $ 44 billion deal was finalized last week.

Musk hasn't detailed the changes he intends to make at Twitter, though he wasted no time in making widespread layoffs. But he has said he wants to make Twitter a haven for free speech. He's said he disagrees with the platform's decision to ban ex-President Donald Trump for inciting violence ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk tweeted earlier this year when he announced his intention to buy the platform.

As the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk uses his Twitter account to make business announcements and promote his enterprises. He muses about technology and trade, but has also posted jokes about women's breasts and once compared Canada's prime minister to Hitler. He regularly weighs in on global events, as he did in March 2020 when he tweeted that “The coronavirus pandemic is dumb."

That same month,...