Twitter shares soar as Musk takes 9.2pc stake
Elon Musk (pictured), Tesla’s chief executive and one of the most followed users on Twitter, bought a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media giant, becoming one of its top shareholders, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The news sent Twitter shares soaring about 25 per cent in premarket trading.
The Tesla founder bought 73,486,938 Twitter shares on March 14, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The stake is worth $2.89billion, based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday. The stake makes him one of the largest shareholders in the company and is more than four times the 2.25 per cent holding of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
Musk is a regular Twitter user with more than 80 million followers, although recently he said he is giving “serious thought” to building a new social media platform. Late last month Musk asked his followers whether they thought the social media platform encouraged free speech.
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” He then asked: “Is a new platform needed?” He regularly uses Twitter to share updates from the companies he owns - including SpaceX and Neuralink. He is also known for sharing memes, adding to his popularity among fans.
