Hollywood
Elon Musk Becomes Twitter’s Biggest Shareholder With $2.9 Billion Stake
Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the platform’s biggest shareholder.
According to a Securities and Exchange filing obtained by The Guardian, Musk spent close to $3 billion on the new shares on Friday.
News of Musk’s acquisition resulted in a 25% soar in Twitter’s stock price in pre-market trading.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss is one of the site’s most popular users, boasting over 80 million followers, though he has previously bemoaned the platform for failing to support free speech and suggested interest in forming his own. Now surpassing the 2.25% shareholding of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Musk may wish to change the platform from the inside.
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” he asked his followers in a poll just two weeks prior.
After 70.4% voted ‘No’, Musk posted: “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
He added, “Is a new platform needed?”
Is a new platform needed?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
This is not the first time where Musk has actively sought and acted on the feedback of his following. In November he sold $5 billion in Tesla stock after users voted that he should sell a 10% stake in the company.
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