By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com -- Elon Musk said Tuesday he would lift Twitter's ban on Donald Trump if his take-private deal is successful, calling the social media company's decision to ban the former U.S. president "a mistake" as it alienated a large part of the country.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) was down 1% in recent trading.
“I would reverse the permanent ban,” Musk said in a Financial Times autos virtual conference, according to The Wall Street Journal. "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?”
The decision to ban Trump "was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice," Musk added.
Earlier this year in January, Twitter banned Trump from accessing his account indefinitely. The social media company said tweets concerning the Capitol riots and alleged voter fraud had breached the platform's rules.
Trump has said that he won't be returning to Twitter as he seeks to make progress with his social-media company Truth Social.
Elon Musk struck a $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter last month.