🚀 A Twitter Titan's Transaction
🚀 A Twitter Titan's Transaction
One of Twitter's most famous and popular users has become its largest shareholder. Elon Musk, the billionaire chief of Tesla and SpaceX, revealed in a 13G filing with the SEC last week that he now owns 9.2% of the social media platform's stock for about $3.7 billion. Musk then noted that he would take a seat on the company's board, but has since reversed the decision.Â
Musk's 9.2% stake beats out Vanguard, which owns 8.8% of the company, and far outstrips Jack Dorsey, the company's co-founder and longtime CEO, who owns 2.3% of the company.Â
Musk has amassed 81.3 million followers on the site, putting him in the realm of celebrities like Kim Kardashian (72 million followers) and Lady Gaga (84.5 million).
In November, Dorsey stepped down from his chief executive role amid contention from shareholders and public pressure to reform the company and its platform, reports the New York Times. He has also stated that he will step down from the Board this year too. Parag Agrawal, Twitter's former CTO, has since stepped into the company's head role.
A Volatile History
Elon Musk's personal history with Twitter has been quite volatile. Not only have his tweets triggered SEC investigations (and a deal to curb his tweeting, reports Reuters), but he has also gotten heat for tweets made against individuals. In 2018, Musk tweeted that a British caver trying to help a Thai youth soccer team stuck in a cave was a "pedo guy", says the BBC. The man sued Musk over the phrase but ultimately lost.
The Verdict
It's hard to ever know Musk's motivations, especially since he's already reversed his position on taking a seat on the board. That being said, we'll be keeping an eye out on Musk's Twitter page to see what new shenanigans he gets into—and what new lawsuits may follow.