Elon Musk was stuck in “soul-destroying” traffic, and the entire world knew about it. Musk mulled taking Tesla private in 2018 and the entire world was aware of it. In addition to these, he also challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a duel and the world knew about it. The world is aware of Musk’s penchant for taking every single happening on Twitter. He took his Tweeting relishing to another level by purchasing its largest shares. Currently, Musk is Twitter’s largest shareholder.
From Criticizer to Twitter’s Largest Shareholder
Musk is a famous Tweet icon (besides his innovative ventures) with over 80 million followers. From business ideas, insults, and memes to an experience at a famed Berlin nightclub, he is (literally) a trendsetter on Twitter. On 4 April 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter—making him Twitter’s largest shareholder.
Here is a breakup of Twitter’s stakes:
- Elon Musk- 9.2%
- Vanguard (Mutual-fund company)- 8.8%
- Jack Dorsey (Former CEO)- 2.3%
Minutes after buying Twitter shares, Musk (again) ‘took it to Twitter’ to post yet another Tweet without elaborating on news of his investment. Days after he criticized the microblogging platform, the news of his Twitter investment spread out like wildfire. So, what could this investment possibly mean?
Oh hi lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2022
Case 1: The Twitter Renovator
Previously, Musk tweeted about giving serious thought to starting his own social media company. This was because of his assumption of Twitter violating content moderation policies. With Musk being onboard, people look forward to him bringing several changes to the platform for its betterment.
According to a statement by Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities: “We would expect this passive stake as just the start of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that could ultimately lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role of Twitter.”
Musk boarded with the company during a delicate time when Twitter’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey stepped down from his position. He plans to leave the board after facing an activist shareholder and grappling with criticism from lawmakers and regulators about free speech, censorship, and toxic content. However, Dorsey had initiated the “decentralized” version of the Twitter project before handing over the reins to the new CEO, Parag Agarwal. Meanwhile, Twitter is also working on various other projects. Moreover, Musk is also expected to renovate the platform by putting an end to political censorship.
Case 2: The Twitter Penchant
It is unclear what Musk plans to do with his Twitter stakes. He has been critical of the company in recent weeks for failing (in his view) to adhere to free speech principles. He has also argued that users should be allowed to choose the algorithms that determine the tweets they see or build their own, instead of relying on Twitter to curate posts.
It is also unclear whether Musk will join or will be invited to join Twitter’s board. He filed a securities document called a 13G filing, indicating that he planned for the investment to be passive and that he did not intend to pursue control of the company. However, several speculations indicate that Musk could change the status of his investment and continue buying Twitter shares or even try acquiring the company outright.
2029
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2022
Or, maybe, Elon Musk has found something to keep himself occupied until his first crewed mission to Mars fulfills his prediction and lands on the Red Planet in 2029.
Also Read: Twitter Aims to Decentralize the Company; Expands Free Access for App Developers
