Elon Musk Might Get What He Wants From Twitter After All
It looks like Elon Musk might get his when it comes to Twitter, after all. As you may already know, Musk's interest in the social media site has been well documented and the billionaire has been very vocal about wanting more of a say in what goes on on the website. So much so that he's put his money where his mouth is and became the company's biggest shareholder — before then refusing a seat on the board, per NBC News. And that's when things turned ever more serious for the one-time "Saturday Night Live" host and his Twitter takeover.
April brought the news that Musk was interested in buying Twitter outright, and he was ready to offer up a serious amount of cash to do so. As for how much he put on the table? A staggering $43 billion. Yes, that's BILLION. And Bloomberg even reported his was willing to pay all that in cash. Musk confirmed his plans himself on (where else?) Twitter, as he tweeted a document from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission confirming he wanted to buy the platform and would consider getting rid of his shares if his offer wasn't accepted. And now there's been a big development in his social media plan.
Twitter's new CEO?
It looks like we could be calling Elon Musk the CEO of Twitter before long. On April 25, it was reported that the company was getting pretty close to accepting Musk's eye watering $43 billion buyout offer. A meeting reportedly took place on the morning of April 24, with insiders claiming to Bloomberg and Financial Times that it's looking likely a deal could even be reached within 24 hours. As for Musk? He's said to already be looking at people to take on his latest venture with in the form of business partners and potential co-investors. And as the world waited with bated breath to hear what exactly went on behind the scenes in the important Twitter meeting, CNBC reported that as news of the meeting became public news shares in the company jumped an impressive 3%. The Musk effect?
As for why Musk — who once urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to fight him in a tweet — wants Twitter so badly? Well, Musk claimed in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission document that the platform if important for free speech, but it "will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form." He added, "Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
Tweeting his plans for the outlet on April 21, Musk wrote, "If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!" while also vowing to "authenticate all real humans." Watch this space, world.