According to filings made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and one of Twitter’s most popular users, bought a 9.2 per cent share in the social media behemoth. With this, Elon Musk has become Twitter’s largest shareholder just weeks after questioning its commitment to free expression. This purchase was worth almost $3bn (£2.3bn) based on Twitter’s closing price Friday.
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The Twitter stock soared 26% in premarket trading after a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed Elon Musk purchased more than 73 million shares and took the step to become Twitter’s largest shareholder. Coming just a few weeks after The Billionaire indicated he was “considering” creating his own social media site and now owning more than four times the 2.25 per cent stake held by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
According to Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, Musk’s passive ownership could be just the beginning. “It looks like Elon has his eyes laser set on Twitter,” some speculated after the poll, rather than starting a competing social media platform. Ives believes Musk will eventually desire an active share in the company, allowing him to take a “more aggressive ownership role.” “We see this as Musk extending his tentacles even deeper,” says one analyst.
You would recall that in one of his tweets in late March, Musk questioned if Twitter “rigorously adheres” to the values of free speech. He wrote, “Given that Twitter functions as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech norms fundamentally weakens democracy.” He also further asked a question that got a lot of people thinking, “Is a new platform required?” he continued. Well, Let’s see where all of this leads. We at Oscarmini.com will keep you updated.
According to financial commentators, Musk’s stock acquisition might be interpreted as an attempt to sway Twitter’s leadership. According to NPR, Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities stated in a client note, “We expect this passive stake to be the start of broader conversations with Twitter board/management that might ultimately lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role of Twitter.”
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