Elon Musk, who also controls Tesla and SpaceX, has become one of Twitter’s largest owners, just a week after announcing on the platform that he was “seriously considering” starting a new social media company.
According to a report made public by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, the South African billionaire purchased a passive 9.2% share worth $2.9 billion.
According to a statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the world’s richest man, worth an estimated $273 billion, purchased almost 73.5 million shares. It implies that the Tesla co-founder owns more than four times the shares of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who controls 2.25 percent of the company.
Twitter’s stock soared by more than 26% in pre-market trading before Wall Street opened on Monday, valuing his shares at about $3.6 billion, netting him an additional $1.2 billion in three weeks.
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
Musk’s move comes just days after he tweeted that he was “considering” creating a new social media platform and questioned Twitter’s commitment to free expression.
Since joining the site in 2009, Elon Musk has amassed over 80 million followers and has used the platform to make a number of announcements, including hyping a Tesla go-private deal that landed him in regulatory hot water.
