Elon Musk says 'Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape' without consequences in bid to calm advertisers

• Elon Musk tweeted out a message to Twitter's advertisers on Thursday.
• He said Twitter will embrace free speech, but it can't turn into a "hellscape" without consequences.

Elon Musk has a message to Twitter's advertisers: Please don't leave.

The Tesla CEO on Thursday gave his most detailed explanation yet as to why he's buying Twitter for $44 billion in a note addressed to Twitter's advertisers.

"There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong," Musk said in a message posted to his Twitter account.

He went on to explain that he bought Twitter to create a platform for healthy debate and to stem polarization between the left and right.

But, most importantly, he assured advertisers that there will be some limits to free speech on the website.

"That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!," he said, adding that "our platform must be warm and welcoming to all."

Advertising is critical to Twitter's business, and Musk's note indicates that — assuming his deal to buy the company closes — he wants to make sure advertisers aren't scared off the platform. Last quarter, ads made up $1.08 billion of Twitter's $1.18 billion in revenue.

Musk has made comments in the past that could be concerning to advertisers. In 2019, he tweeted: "I hate advertising."

Musk has called himself a "free-speech absolutist" and has suggested that he would loosen content moderation on Twitter after taking control. He told the Financial Times in May that he would reinstate former President Donald Trump's Twitter account, which was removed after the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. He called that decision "morally wrong and flat-out stupid."

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that some large advertisers are concerned that Musk will invite Trump back onto Twitter or change the platform's content-moderation policies, risking harm to their brands. Car companies are hesitant about running ads on a Musk-run Twitter because they don't want sensitive data leaked to Tesla, which Musk leads, some ad buyers told the outlet.

The Tesla CEO and world's richest person offered to buy Twitter in April, then backed out of the deal. After months of legal drama, the purchase is back on and is expected to close by Friday, according to a deadline imposed by a Delaware judge. Neither camp has officially announced that the deal has closed.