Elon Musk grabs $3bn Twitter stake

What

Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter, according to a US securities filing

Why

The news comes as Musk recently revealed he was giving “serious thought” to building a new social media platform

What next

The stake is worth $2.89bn, more than four times the 2.25% holding of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey

The story

Tesla founder Elon Musk bought 73,486,938 Twitter shares in March, sending Twitter shares soaring 25% in pre-market trading, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The stake, worth close to $2.89bn, makes Musk one of the largest shareholders in the company at 9.2% – more than four times the 2.25% held by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

The move follows a recent Twitter thread in which he said he is giving “serious thought” to building a new social media platform.

Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.

What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022

With a self-proclaimed crypto-enthusiast in such a prominent position, could this mark a shift in Twitter’s approach to the space?

Last year the social media platform launched a dedicated team to explore decentralised apps but whether we will see more moves like this remains to be seen.

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