Elon Musk overpaid for Twitter when he bought it for $44 billion in late 2022, after unsuccessfully trying to renegotiate or renege. Now a new conventional wisdom is emerging: Twitter is a loss leader for the rest of Elon Inc.

Social media companies that once at least tried to promote a healthy information ecosystem have largely given up—and insiders say Musk’s example gave them cover.

Despite Elon Musk's best efforts, the bird branding has shown itself to have remarkable staying power – perhaps, I don't know, a sign that Twitter never needed rebranding in the first place. But, piece by piece,