Never Underestimate a Billionaire Troll
Elon Musk has embarked on a campaign to take over Twitter, a rather ominous twist in the billionaire's high-profile entanglement with the social media platform.
In an SEC filing dated April 13, the Tesla CEO offered to buy Twitter outright for $54.20 a share, a "best and final offer" that would value the company at approximately $43 billion.
Enclosed in the filing is a letter from Musk addressed to Twitter Chair Bret Taylor. "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," the note begins.
"However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.
"Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it," Musk concluded.
The move is the latest in an awkward dance between the investor and Twitter.
On April 4, Twitter announced that the Tesla CEO had purchased a 9.2 percent stake in the company, the largest of any shareholder. Musk was then appointed to the board of directors, a position that would prevent him from purchasing a controlling stake in the company.
On April 10, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawl revealed that Musk would no longer join the board, a decision the SpaceX founder confirmed in an SEC filing that frees him to purchase more Twitter shares, as well as express his views about the company on and offline.
Known for his offensive, provocative, and all-together nonsensical tweets, Musk now poses an unprecedented problem to the company.
At first, Musk's modus operandi matched that of a traditional activist investor — he purchased a large stake in the company, began alluding to policy changes (i.e. polling his Twitter followers on the site's free speech policies and a potential edit button), and drove up share prices in the process.
Musk didn't seem to be operating with any intention in mind, other than trolling people via the very platform he could, technically, take over.
After reversing his decision to join the board, the divisive investor posted several chaotic tweets (which he since deleted) making light of Twitter's precarious position. After proclaiming he was in "goblin mode," he suggested Twitter remove the "w" from its name and repurpose its San Francisco headquarters as a homeless shelter because "no one shows up anyway."
Now, Musk's end game is clearer. In a voice script included in his latest SEC filing, he said he would reconsider his position as shareholder if his offer was rebuffed.
"This is not a threat; it's simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made," he said.
Of course, specifics regarding the"changes" Musk referenced remain murky. The entrepreneur has repeatedly raised issue with Twitter's approach to free speech, suggesting he disagrees with the site's policies on hate speech and misinformation — policies that entered the limelight in the wake of the January 6 capitol riot, Trump's incitement of violence on Twitter, and his subsequent ban from the platform.
From troll to investor to potential buyer, Musk has trapped Twitter on a rollercoaster ride of plot twists. Hang on tight, because whatever happens next could change the course of social media history.
