Tesla CEO Elon Musk has officially announced his intention to purchase Twitter, along with an announcement that he's "not sure" if it'll actually work out.
He announced the buyout while speaking at the TED conference in Vancouver on Thursday, and he said that he wants to make Twitter's algorithms more public. He also talked about limiting how much content could be censored by the platform.
Musk is one of the richest people in the world, but much of his wealth is tied up in equity in Tesla and other companies. If he does want to buy Twitter, then he would have to liquidate stock or borrow money against his assets.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, will not be joining Twitter’s board of directors.
Musk already owns a more than 9% stake in Twitter as revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week. Soon after his stake became public, Twitter’s CEO announced plans for Musk to join the board. But days later, Musk reversed course and decided not to join the board after all.
If he had joined, Musk would not be allowed to accumulate more than 14.9% of beneficial ownership of the company’s outstanding common stock.
Twitter’s board has approved a plan that makes it harder for someone to acquire the company.
The move came a day after billionaire Elon Musk announced he was interested in buying the company for $43 billion.
It's called a "poison pill." If a person or group acquires more than 15% of Twitter's outstanding common stock without the board's approval, other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at a discount. The plan expires on April 14, 2023.
This makes it harder for someone to take over the company and reduces the size of any stake acquired by an unwelcome buyer.
So you may be thinking, How did we get Here?
A lot of people are wondering why Elon Musk bought a large amount of Twitter.
It’s not the first time Elon Musk has bought a large amount of twitter. He first bought $1 billion worth of Twitter in 2017, and then another $2 billion in 2020. His new purchase in 2022 was a relatively small one, only $500 million.
He had previously sold his original purchases at a profit: his 2021 sale brought him $750 million and his 2021 sale brought him $1.5 billion.
His investment in 2022 was different though: it seems to have been simply an interest in the company, as he has not sold any of his shares at this point.
This may be because Twitter is still working on expanding into new areas, such as live streaming video games and interactive e-commerce links.
It’s also possible that Elon Musk simply likes the company: he’s tweeted about liking the platform many times over the years, which could have led him to invest more money into it
What Would Happen If Elon were Successful in Buying out the Company?
If Elon Musk buys Twitter, that could be an extremely positive thing for Twitter and for the social media industry.
Elon Musk is a visionary who can see how things can be done better. For instance, he has a vision for how to get us off of fossil fuels and onto renewable clean energy. He is also a man who wants to take humanity to Mars. If someone like him bought Twitter, he might want to make it cleaner and more efficient. He would probably want to make it safer for what Twitter identifies as bullies and harassers.
If you're a regular Twitter user, you've probably noticed that the platform has been plagued by problems for some time. While Twitter may have started out as a place to share your hot takes on important current events, it's become a hub of vitriolic comments, misinformation, and harassment.
Also, Elon Musk is a funny guy. If he owned Twitter, then I think we would see his funny side on there all the time!
However, it is important to note that Elon Musk is also very busy with his many businesses. So if he bought Twitter, I don't know if he would have much time to work on making it better or using it all the time himself in a funny way.