Ex-Fox News star Tucker Carlson is ready to get back to work. Multiple conservative networks have offered Tucker big money and a lot of power to sign a deal. The video platform Rumble is trying to make a deal with Tucker.
Streaming services are also hot on his trail. And now Axios is reporting that Tucker Carlson and Twitter CEO Elon Musk had a conversation about working together. Tucker is still under contract with Fox News. The exit negotiations are expected to turn nasty.
Why Musk and Tucker? After Fox fired him, Tucker made one public statement in a video he posted on Twitter. That video has been seen a staggering 80 million times.
Hollywood took notice. So did Rupert Murdoch.
And the timing is perfect as Musk has been trying to get more content creators to publish on his platform. He is starting to roll out different monetization strategies to encourage them.
Making a deal with Tucker would turbocharge Musk’s efforts and be a huge blow to Fox News while giving Tucker the ability to reach a massive audience with full editorial control.
According to Axios:
The intrigue: Axios has learned Carlson is busy plotting a media empire of his own. But he needs Fox to let him out of his contract, which expires in January 2025 — after the presidential election.
We’re told Carlson has been contacted by outlets — including the right-wing Rumble and Newsmax — that offered to pay him more than his Fox contract.
Behind the scenes: Axios has learned that Carlson and Elon Musk had a conversation about working together, but didn’t discuss specifics.
Carlson confidants say he also is contemplating building a direct-to-consumer media outlet where his millions of fans could pay to watch him. Carlson’s predecessor in his Fox slot, Bill O’Reilly, created a blueprint for this.
SCOOP: Tucker Carlson is preparing to unleash allies to attack Fox News in an effort to bully the network into letting him work for — or start — a right-wing rival, sources close to him tell Axios. https://t.co/IkW3mBfV3y
— Axios (@axios) May 7, 2023
Good evening pic.twitter.com/SPrsYKWKCE
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 27, 2023
Dear @TuckerCarlson, our offer from @ValuetainmentTV 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/RXDRSDchMi
— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) May 2, 2023
