The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, a popular microblogging platform. This move, which many have termed strategic, comes weeks after the multi billionaire subtly accused the platform of defying the principles of free speech.
Musk’s move was announced in a SEC filing on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Shortly after the acquisition news went viral, Twitter shares jumped by 27%, forming the stock’s biggest intraday trades since its initial public offering in 2013. Based on Friday’s market close, Musk’s stake is over $2.8 billion.
In March, the billionaire had shared a poll with his over 80 million followers on Twitter, asking if the social media giant adheres to the principles of free speech. Over 2 million votes were polled with 70.4% of respondents affirming in the negative and 29.6 in the positive.
With the majority of responses being negative, Musk had said he was considering starting his own social media platform.
Responding to the development, Tom Forte, an analyst at DA Davidson & Co, said, “Given Elon’s prior comments about wanting to start a social media company, I would say it’s possible that he will increase his stake in Twitter or take a controlling interest in the company sometime soon.”
