Elon Musk Becomes Largest Shareholder Of Twitter

Elon Musk Becomes Largest Shareholder Of Twitter

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk now owns 9.2 per cent of Twitter after purchasing $2.89 billion in stock according to a filing spotted by CNBC.

This came after the recent criticism by Musk over the social media site’s free speech policies.

He tweeted, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.”

Musk has long been one of Twitter’s high-profile users and recently polled his over 80 million followers about the platform’s adherence to free speech.

In 2018 he tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 a share, setting off an SEC lawsuit that cost him $20 million and his spot as chairman of the board.

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Musk recently challenged the settlement, saying that the SEC overstepped its authority. He’s asking a federal judge to terminate his agreement requiring some tweets to be vetted by a lawyer.

He also launched a Twitter poll last week with the question “Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this [freedom of speech] principle?”

He mused about the idea of starting his own social media platform, adding that he was giving it “serious thought.”

In a follow-up tweet, He said “the consequences of this poll will be important,” and that his prediction has now apparently come true.

His stake in Twitter is still a passive one, but he could up the stakes.”This eventually could lead to a buyout,” analyst Dan Ives told CNBC.