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Here’s exactly what Elon Musk said about letting Trump back on Twitter

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During his interview with Financial Times, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that he would allow former U.S. President Donald Trump to return to Twitter if his pending $44 billion deal for the social media platform goes through. Some of Musk’s comments are being construed as he would allow Trump, who was banned from Twitter on January 8, 2021, to return to the platform with no limits. Instead, Musk’s statements regarding the reversal of Trump’s Twitter ban were more general.

Musk said permanent bans should be extremely rare and reserved for accounts that are not human, meaning they are either spam or bots. If “there is no legitimacy to the account at all,” as Musk put it, the account should not be allowed to appear on Twitter. Musk stated on several occasions that Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey agrees with him on this point.

Here is what Musk said, word for word, to the question “Are you planning to let Donald Trump back on?”:

Musk: “Well, uh, I think the general question of ‘Should Twitter have permanent bans,’ um, and, I’ve talked with Jack Dorsey about this, and, he and I are of the same mind, which is that permanent bans should be extremely rare, and really reserved for people who are trying to — for accounts that are bots or spam/scam accounts, where there’s just no legitimacy to the account at all. Um, I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump; I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice. He is now going to be on Truth Social, as will a large part of the, sort of, the Right in the United States. And, so, I think this could end up being frankly worse than having a single forum where everyone can debate. Um, so, I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permanent ban. I don’t own Twitter, yet, so this is not like a thing that will definitely happen, because, what if I don’t own Twitter? But, my opinion, and Jack Dorsey, I want to be clear, shares this opinion, is that we should not have permanent bans. Now, that doesn’t mean that somebody gets to say whatever they want to say. If they say something that is illegal, or, otherwise, you know, destructive to the world, then there should perhaps be a “time out,” a temporary suspension, or that particular Tweet should be made invisible or have very limited traction. But, I think perma-bans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a “town square,” where everyone can voice their opinion. I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme.”

Interviewer: “Even after he egged on the crowd who went to the U.S. Capitol, some of them carrying nooses. You still think it was a mistake to remove him?”

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Musk: “I think if there are Tweets that are wrong and bad, they should be either deleted or made invisible and a suspension, a temporary suspension is appropriate. But not a permanent ban.”

Interviewer: “So if the deal completes, he might potentially come back on but with the understanding that if he does something similar again, he’ll be back in the Sin Bin?”

Musk: “He has publicly stated that he will not be coming back to Twitter, um and that he will only be on Truth Social. And this is the point I am trying to make, which is perhaps not getting across, is that banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the Right, and this is why it is morally wrong and flat-out stupid.”

Musk, whose $44 billion offer for Twitter was officially accepted on April 25, still has to wait for shareholders to vote to confirm the sale of the platform. The deal should be completed by October 24, 2022, according to SEC documents.

Musk’s remarks regarding the Trump Twitter ban can also be heard below.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign

The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Europe has announced that its “Future Holidays” campaign will feature Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along experiences in the Netherlands. 

The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.

The Holiday program was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on X. “Come get in the spirit with us. Featuring Caraoke, FSD Supervised ride-along experiences, holiday light shows with our S3XY lineup & more,” the company wrote in its post on X.

Per the program’s official website, fun activities will include Caraoke sessions and light shows with the S3XY vehicle lineup. It appears that Optimus will also be making an appearance at the events. Tesla even noted that the humanoid robot will be in “full party spirit,” so things might indeed be quite fun. 

“This season, we’re introducing you to the fun of the future. Register for our holiday events to meet our robots, see if you can spot the Bot to win prizes, and check out our selection of exclusive merchandise and limited-edition gifts. Discover Tesla activities near you and discover what makes the future so festive,” Tesla wrote on its official website. 

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This announcement aligns with Tesla’s accelerating FSD efforts in Europe, where supervised ride-alongs could help demonstrate the tech to regulators and customers. The Netherlands, with its urban traffic and progressive EV policies, could serve as an ideal and valuable testing ground for FSD.

Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.

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Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges

New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October. 

New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.

Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.

The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.

This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.

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For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.

“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Shortand was portrayed by Christian Bale.

Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”

Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation

For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.

Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.

While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.

Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.

In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.

Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.

It closed at $430.14 on Monday.

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