Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk says he will reverse the permanent ban on the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump once he acquires the social messaging platform.

Musk, who is widely considered to be the richest person in the world, and Twitter agreed last month to a buyout.

Musk spoke at an event organized by the Financial Times on Tuesday.

He said he thought Twitter's ban on Trump was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the United States, and did not ultimately result in him not having a voice.

Twitter suspended Trump after the Capitol Hill riot in January last year. The former president has publicly stated that he does not intend to return to the messaging platform.

Musk noted that Twitter may need to delete posts or temporarily suspend accounts to deal with misinformation.

He has explained that his buyout of Twitter is aimed at protecting free speech. This has raised concerns that more people may come to regard it as a service where they can post anything they please.