Tesla CEO Elon Musk has decided to purchase a massive stake in Twitter making him the largest outside shareholder in the social media giant, not long after criticizing Twitter for what he said was its failure to offer freedom of speech.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission 13G filing as per CNBC, Musk now owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, which represents a 9.2% passive stake in the company. The stake is reportedly worth $2.89 billion, based on Twitter’s closing price Friday.
The surprising move happened less than two weeks after Musk criticized Twitter, creating a poll on Twitter asking whether Twitter actually adheres to free speech principles. “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk tweeted to his 80 million-plus followers. “What should be done?”
The huge purchase has made Musk one of the largest shareholders in the company and he now controls more than four times the stock of its founder Jack Dorsey, who owns just 2.25 percent.
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