Tesla CEO Elon Musk Buys Stake In Twitter

Musk has accused Twitter of “failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a big stake in Twitter.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a big stake in Twitter.
Susan Walsh via Associated Press

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc., according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, making him the biggest shareholder in the company.

Musk last month called out Twitter for “failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.”

Twitter shares rose 26% in premarket trading following the news. The 73.5 million shares of common stock Musk acquired were worth $2.89 billion, based on Friday’s closing price, according to Bloomberg.

The Tesla chief told one of his over 80 million followers last week he was “giving serious thought” to starting his own social media network. He hasn’t yet tweeted about his stake in Twitter.

Musk reportedly is seeking an exit from a deal he signed with the SEC in 2018 restricting the number of social media posts he can share about Tesla.

Musk is not the only American billionaire disillusioned with Twitter trying to force social media change.

Former President Donald Trump’s team launched a competing platform called Truth Social in February. It has struggled to gain signups and traffic after a series of technical glitches.

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