They say the only guarantees in life are death and taxes, but I think you could add Elon Musk finding a way to get his name in the news to that list pretty confidently. Yes, the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has somehow managed to do it again. Not content with being Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) biggest individual shareholder - Only Vanguard Group’s suite of mutual funds and ETFs controls more shares – Musk has now boldly proclaimed that he is ready to buy the company.
What makes this extra surprising is that it comes just days after he decided that he no longer wanted to join the social media company’s board of directors. Just a couple of weeks ago, social media was a-buzz with Musk’s impending appointment to Twitter. But Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced less than a week later that this would no longer be happening – with no explanation given for the swift U-turn.
Of course, none of this should really come as a surprise to those well-versed in Musk’s seemingly endless quest for headlines. It wasn’t that long ago that he claimed he was thinking of quitting his role at Tesla to become a full-time influencer. And we all know just how influential he can be – just look at how he almost single-handedly raises and drops the value of several cryptocurrencies with just a tweet.
And so, to this latest piece of news. Twitter Inc. announced in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, who currently owns slightly more than 9% of its stock, provided a letter to the company containing a proposal to buy the company’s remaining shares. Musk offered $54.20 per share of Twitter's stock – calling it his best and final offer.
Naturally, Musk announced the news to his 81 million followers in his own unique way, simply tweeting ‘I made an offer’ and including a link to the SEC filing
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
In the filing, Musk noted that he first became a shareholder in Twitter because he believed in its potential to be the true platform for free speech around the globe. Musk has previously described himself as a free speech ‘absolutist’ and has also stated that he doesn’t believe Twitter is living up to free speech principles – something he would presumably look to change if purchasing the company.
In response to the offer, Twitter stated that its board “will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders".
It is worth noting that Shares of Twitter jumped 11% before the market on Thursday – most likely as a result of Musk’s announcement. However, the stock is still down from its 52-week high of about $73. At the same time, shares of Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer that Musk heads, slipped about 0.9% pre market.
