Lauding Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of social media giant Twitter as a step forward for free speech and democracy, Netflix founder and Co-CEO Reed Hastings urges people, “Give the guy a break.”
Speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit Wednesday in New York, Hastings said he is “100% convinced that he (Musk) is trying to help the world in all of his endeavors…because he believes in free speech and its power for democracy,” Business Insider reports.
“He just spent all this money to try to make [Twitter] much better for democracy and society—to have a more open platform, and I am sympathetic to that agenda.”
Hastings added that Musk is “the bravest, most creative person on the planet.”
Musk responded, “Wow, thank you for the kind words.”
That is not to say that there isn’t some friction between the two business titans. Hastings called Musk’s audacious management style “out there,” adding that he himself strives to be a “steady, respectable leader.”
In the first quarter of this year, when Netflix lost subscribers, Musk tweeted, “The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable.”
Hastings' support for Musk's Twitter venture mirrors comments that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., made earlier this week, when he warned the Biden administration about its anti-Musk stance, calling it "offensive."
Why should the U.S. government "go after someone who wants to have free speech?" McCarthy told reporters Tuesday outside the White House. "What do they have to look at Twitter about?
"Do they want to go after the America public about whether they can have an opinion on something? I think the American public has spoken on this: I think our First Amendment stands up—and I think they should just stop picking on Elon Musk."
© 2025 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.