Will reverse Donald Trump's Twitter ban: Elon Musk

London: Elon Musk said he would reverse Twitter ban on former President Donald Trump.

The richest man in the world agreed a $44bn (£34.5bn) takeover bid with the Twitter board last month.

"I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country, and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice," said Musk, who was speaking virtually at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit.

Musk called the ban a "morally bad decision," saying permanent bans undermine trust in Twitter.

"If there are tweets that are wrong and bad, those should be either deleted or made invisible, and a suspension—a temporary suspension—is appropriate, but not a permanent ban," Musk said.

He said that banning Trump eventually would amplify the former president's voice among those with right-wing political views. Trump has said he wasn't planning to return to Twitter and was focused on his social-media venture called Truth Social.

Leading up to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by a mob of his supporters seeking to halt the certification of President Biden's 2020 election win, Trump posted tweets that Twitter executives viewed as inciting violence. Twitter permanently banned Trump's account on Jan. 8, 2021.

Representatives for Trump didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A federal judge last week tossed a lawsuit filed by Trump against Twitter and its then-Chief Executive Jack Dorsey over alleged censorship. Twitter declined to comment.

Dorsey, a Twitter co-founder and board member, tweeted on Tuesday that "generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work." He linked to a series of tweets he sent in January 2021 explaining the platform's decision to ban Mr. Trump, a move he called the right one for Twitter.