Elon Musk said Tuesday that he would restore former President Donald Trump's banned account on Twitter if his deal to acquire the company is completed.

Musk has previously said he thinks Twitter should be more "reluctant to delete things" and "very cautious with permanent bans." On Tuesday, he called Twitter's decision to ban Trump in January 2021 a "mistake."

"I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump, I think that was a mistake," Musk said.

At the time, Twitter blocked Trump's account "because of the risk of further incitement to violence" following the riots outside the Capitol on 6 January, 2020.

Speaking specifically about the logic behind Trump's ban, Musk said it still doesn't justify a permanent ban. "I think permabans fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion," he said. "If there are tweets that are wrong and bad, those should be either deleted or made invisible, and a temporary suspension is appropriate. But not a permanent ban."

Musk has repeatedly called Twitter the "public town square" of the modern age - the digital equivalent of a public forum. To that end, he has repeatedly criticized Twitter's decision to permanently ban Trump's access to the site.

Even if Trump's account is reinstated, it is unclear whether Trump will return. He has repeatedly said he would not, preferring his own social network, Truth Social.