Dogecoin Spikes as Elon Musk Takes 9.2% Stake in Twitter
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has previously expressed concerns over free speech in the context of social media.
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter.
- Musk recently posted a poll asking whether his Twitter followers think the company supports free speech.
- Musk has become notorious for sharing crypto-related memes on Twitter.
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Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter. Dogecoin surged on the announcement but has since retraced.
Elon Musk Buys Into Twitter
After becoming known as one of Twitter’s biggest pranksters, Elon Musk has bought a 9.2% stake in the social media platform.
Bloomberg reported that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had invested around $2.89 billion into the company early Monday. Musk’s investment represents a 9.2% stake in the firm, and makes him the largest shareholder.
The news comes after Musk posted a Mar. 25 poll to his 80.2 million Twitter followers asking whether or not the social media app championed free speech. “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe that Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” he wrote. “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” Over 70% of respondents voted no.
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
Musk hasn’t been shy about criticizing Twitter in the past. When the company launched its NFT profile picture feature in January, he criticized the move as a misallocation of resources that did not address the platform’s other issues.
Besides posting polls and commentary on how to improve Twitter, Musk has a reputation for his humorous tweets, which often reference cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and of course Dogecoin. Throughout 2021, he used his account to post a number of memes related to crypto assets, at time causing ripples in the market. The SEC has long scrutinized his Twitter antics, particularly his posts mentioning Tesla and Dogecoin. Musk is currently contesting a 2018 deal he made with the SEC over what he can say about Tesla, accusing the regulator of miconduct.
Shares for the social media giant jumped as news of Musk’s investment surfaced. TWTR is up around 25% at press time after making its biggest one-day jump since 2018. Musk’s favorite crypto asset, Dogecoin, also rallied around 20%, though it later gave back most of its gains.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and several other cryptocurrencies.
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