‘Ceylon Musk could buy Sri Lanka’: Internet after Elon Musk offers $43 billion for Twitter

Elon Musk’s offer to purchase Twitter for $43 billion has sparked memes and jokes aplenty, but a section of the Internet was surprised to realise that the whopping sum offered by the world’s richest man could potentially wipe out an entire country’s external debt. Sri Lanka, grappling with its worst economic downturn since independence, faulted on its $51 billion external debt on Tuesday.

The island nation called the move a "last resort" after running out of foreign exchange to import desperately needed goods, news agency AFP reported.

Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl was among those who pointed out that Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter for $43 billion was at par with Sri Lanka’s debt. “He can buy it and call himself Ceylon Musk,” Bahl quipped.
The WhatsApp joke has in fact been doing the rounds of the microblogging platform.

Many, however, were less than amused - pointing out that one man’s capacity to bail out an entire nation spoke volumes about the concentration of wealth and why it is problematic.

“Elon Musk is bidding to buy Twitter with $43 billion. Country of Sri Lanka is facing debt of $45 billion to survive. There is something fundamentally wrong with the world,” one Twitter user wrote.

Tesla chief Elon Musk launched a hostile takeover effort for Twitter on Thursday, insisting the platform needs to be transformed but acknowledging his $43-billion bid may fail.