Well, it's finally happened. Elon Musk, the world's richest person and head of no less than four companies, has just added a fifth. Yes, Musk has just officially bought Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).
As if being top dog as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company wasn't enough, Musk has just shelled out US$44 billion ($68 billion) on social media company Twitter. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), he paid US$54.20 a share for the company and will take it private. This means investors will no longer be able to buy Twitter shares on the stock market when the acquisition is finalised.
Of course, this had been in the running for a while now. Musk first signalled his interest in Twitter early this year. But he has spent months wrangling over the deal, including through legal means.
Here's how Musk broke the news on, well, Twitter:
He later tweeted that "the bird is freed" and changed his title on the said platform to "Chief Twit".
In a further tweet titled "Dear Twitter Advertisers", Musk said the following:
I didn't do it because it would be easy. I didn't do it to make money. I did it to try and help humanity, whom I love.
Big changes as Musk nets Twitter
But Musk is certainly not extending the love to everyone. Musk's reported first moves were to show CEO Parag Agrawal the door (reportedly with an escort). Also gone are the head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde, and chief financial officer Ned Segal. The new 'Chief Twit' has also flagged layoffs of up to 75% of Twitter's staff
Musk has not been quiet about his desire to return "free speech" to Twitter, which could possibly include the removal of former US President Donald Trump's ban on the platform. However, he also stated in his 'Letter to Advertisers that he didn't want to see the platform become a "free-for-all hellscape".
It's certainly the new dawn of a new era for Twitter. And perhaps in Elon Musk's eyes, for humanity.
Twitter stock last traded at a price of US$53.70.
