Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said if his deal to acquire Twitter goes through, he would let former president Donald Trump return to the platform.
During an interview with The Financial Times, Musk said Tuesday he has talked with Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, and they agree Twitter should not support permanent bans on accounts unless it involves bots or spams and scams.
"Permanent bans fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion," said Musk of Trump's ban during the interview. "I think it was a morally bad decision."
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Twitter cited "the risk of further incitement of violence."
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Last month, Trump told Fox News he would not return to Twitter even if Musk owned it, opting for his own TRUTH Social app.
When asked about Trump's tweets leading to his permanent ban, Musk said any wrong or bad tweets "should be deleted or made invisible" and come with a temporary suspension, but nothing permanent.
"I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," said Musk, who said the move "alienated a large part of the country" and drove the former president to form his own competing app.
One of the reasons behind Musk's $44 billion deal to buy Twitter is what he describes as heavy-handed moderation by the social media platform. It's why several observers believe he would reinstate Trump's account.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk tweeted to his 84 million followers after the deal was announced.
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Contributing: Jessica Guynn and Will Carless
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
