Featured Image Credit: Twitter
Topics: World News
Tired of being the least funny man on Twitter, weird nerd icon Elon Musk is now offering to outright buy the social media platform for an eye-watering $41 billion.
As reported by Bloomberg, Musk announced the "best and final" offer in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier today. The tech billionaire's offer of $54.20 per share was 38% higher than the closing price of Twitter's stock on 1 April, one day before his 9.2% investment in the company was publicly announced.
"I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk wrote in a letter to Twitter chairman Bret Taylor.
"Since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.
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"Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder."
Musk's attempt to buy Twitter comes days after it emerged that he would not be joining Twitter's board of directors after all. The CEO has long been a vocal critic of Twitter's guidelines on free speech, and it's clear he would set about making substantial changes were his offer to be accepted.
"Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy," Musk tweeted just a few weeks ago. "What should be done?"
Perhaps realising that nobody in their right mind would leave Twitter to go to a brand-new social media platform set up specfically by Musk, he's instead decided to buy the company outright and make the changes himself. Because when you're rich, if you don't like the rules you can literally pay to have them changed.