Elon Musk could have literally spent $5 to start his own social media site -- much like I do with atomicpoet.org.

But this wasn't about owning a social media site, it was about owning the network effect of a particular site.

What he fails to realize -- continuously -- is that people can decide to go elsewhere, thereby diminishing that network effect.

Put another way: you can buy the tech, but you can't buy the people using the tech.