Elon Musk buys 9.2% of Twitter, the stock soars on the stock market

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk indirectly bought a 9.2% stake in the tech company Twitter, owner of the social network of the same name, as reported in a statement sent to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In particular, Twitter indicated that the “Elon Musk Revocable Trust”, of which the entrepreneur is the sole beneficiary, was the buyer of the shares, making Musk the indirect owner of the entire stake.
It is a package of 73.5 million Twitter shares, which, compared to the 800.6 million shares that make up the share capital of the company, represent a stake of 9.2%. At the closing price of the stock last Friday, the participation with which the entry of Elon Musk was made is equivalent to 2,888 million dollars (2,624 million euros).
Musk’s love for Twitter
It’s a strange love story, the one between Tesla boss Elon Musk and Twitter. The mega billionaire – one of the richest men on the planet – has made no secret of preferring him to other social networks since he began to be a frequent visitor in 2009: now he has more than 80 million “followers”, and his “tweets” “Are not only very popular but often also deliberately provocative. His account is currently the 11th most followed globally (between Ellen DeGeneres and Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India). Yet Musk has repeatedly criticized Twitter and, instead of abandoning the platform and canceling the account, he became its largest shareholder, triggering a 26% jump in the stock in Wall Street pre-trading, among other things.
The interest of Tesla’s patron
Today, through the company’s regulatory filing, it was announced that the manager has acquired 9.2% of the capital with 73.5 million shares. A substantial blow, calculating that his stake would be worth $ 2.9 billion based on the close of the shares last Friday. Analysts are now wondering what this umpteenth turn of events by Musk means, especially in light of the fact that he himself had declared that he had a “serious thought” on the hypothesis of creating a platform of his own. Has he changed his mind? Instead, do you want to acquire Twitter and become number one?
Regular Twitter visitor
Musk tweets often, and he does it very often: it’s not uncommon for him to share more than 30 tweets in a single day. And his Twitter conversations cover a wide range of topics, from serious conversations about the technicalities of his products to lighthearted memes. And it is certainly an unusual aspect for a person in his position. Some of his tweets have had a big impact: Elon’s tweets are constantly making headlines and angering the bigwigs in business and politics. And they’ve moved the needle on everything from Tesla’s share price to cryptocurrency markets. The biggest “gaffe” dates back to the summer of 2018, when the manager “chirped” claiming he had adequate funding to remove Tesla from the New York Stock Exchange, but without providing evidence. Then, after another provocative tweet, in 2019 Musk had agreed to have his tweets directly related to the electric vehicle maker’s business pre-approved by the SEC. But about a month ago, he asked a New York judge to cancel the deal with the regulator, arguing through his attorney that the SEC is trying to “harass Tesla and silence Mr. Musk.”
Then, Musk asked his followers if they think Twitter adhered to the principles of free speech. After more than 70% said no, he asked if a new platform was needed revealing that he was seriously considering starting his own platform. Today’s announcement also represents another important test for new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who replaced Jack Dorsey following his unexpected resignation last November. The company has set ambitious growth targets, including increasing annual revenue to $ 7.5 billion to reach 315 million daily users by the end of 2023. Also in November, after the announcement that Agrawal was Taking over from Dorsey as Twitter CEO, Musk made himself noticed on Twitter by posting a cryptic meme about the new management: he portrayed Agrawal as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and Dorsey as Soviet secret police chief Nikolai Yezhov being pushed into the water. .