Billionaire businessman Elon Musk made a $43 billion offer to take over Twitter to make the social media platform “an inclusive arena for free speech.”
Summary
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk made a $43 billion offer to take over Twitter to make the social media platform “an inclusive arena for free speech.”
- Musk delivered a “take it or leave it” $43 billion bid to take the company private, valued at $54.20 per share. Musk became one of Twitter’s largest shareholders last week after acquiring more than 9 percent of the company and declining a board seat.
- The billionaire entrepreneur wants to take the company private to fix what he sees as the company’s core problem: censorship. Musk said Twitter’s efforts at content moderation resulted in censorship and “if in doubt, let the speech, let it exist.”
- Musk’s surprise bid was light on the details of how he would finance his takeover, and it’s unclear whether his attempt will ultimately succeed. Twitter is reportedly weighing a “poison pill” maneuver to stop his bid.
- Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told his employees on Thursday his company was not “held hostage” by Musk’s offer and said “we as employees control what happens.”
- Musk, the world’s richest man, rose to prominence as the founder of electric car manufacturer Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.
- The New York Times “The Daily” podcast dove into “Twitter’s Elon Musk Problem” and the debate he’s sparked about Twitter’s future.
- Axios, using Gen Z slang, described Elon Musk’s offer as going “into full goblin mode.”
- The Washington Post wrote that Musk’s hostile takeover bid was just the “latest twist in a stunning multiweek saga.”
- Fox News wrote about “Twitter’s wild 24 hours” and called Musk’s takeover bid a “win” for Twitter shareholders.
- Breitbart covered “Twitter’s blue checkmark brigade” freak-out over Elon Musk’s buyout proposal. The most deranged? “Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany.”
- The Daily Wire argued that Musk could buy Twitter even if his offer is refused.
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© Dominic Moore, 2022
