Musk now owns a 100% stake in Twitter. 

Elon Musk Buys Twitter

Elon Musk, the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $270 billion, has become Twitter’s sole shareholder. 

The social media giant confirmed Monday it had accepted Musk’s offer to buy out the company’s shares at $54.20 per unit and take the firm private. According to the press release, the transaction is valued at roughly $44 billion. Musk offered to buy the company at a premium on its market valuation earlier this month, explaining that he wanted to unlock Twitter’s “extraordinary potential.” The development came days after it emerged that Musk had taken a 9.2% stake in the company. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal then announced that Musk would be joining the company’s board, before backtracking on the announcement after Musk decided against joining the board. 

Though the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s offer to buy a 100% stake in the company was seen as big news in the technology world, the chances it would be accepted looked less likely when the company’s board launched what’s known as a “poison pill,” a policy that would allow shareholders to buy the company’s stock at a discount, diluting the value of Musk’s holdings. However, the firm has since confirmed that it has taken Musk up on the offer. 

Besides praising Twitter’s future potential, Musk has repeatedly referenced his interest in championing free speech with respect to social media. Before announcing that he had taken a 9.2% stake in the company, he posted a poll asking his 80 million followers whether Twitter supports free speech. “The consequences of this poll will be important,” he wrote. “Please vote carefully.” He’s also recently complained about cryptocurrency-related spam accounts on the platform, criticizing the firm for focusing on offering support for NFTs rather than resolving the spam problem. 

Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.

Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022

However, Musk is arguably better known for his flippant presence on the platform. He regularly takes shots at other public figures and posts humorous memes, often referencing cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and even his own companies. His regular references to crypto assets and Tesla’s stock price have landed him in hot water with the SEC in the past because his tweets often cause jolts in markets (Dogecoin spiked again today on the buyout news), but that’s done little to dissuade him from fooling around behind his keyboard. Now that he’s actively pushing a free speech narrative as the sole owner in the company, it’s difficult to see him toning his online persona down anytime soon.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.