Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX's CEO, now owns a 9.2% stake in Twitter, the very social media platform he frequents. His stake, which is said to be worth around $2.89 billion as of Friday, makes him the platform's biggest shareholder.
Just last month, the billionaire CEO called out the social media platform on his Twitter account, no less, and said that "failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy."
It was previously reported that Musk was considering creating his own social media platform.
Elon Musk Buys 9.2% Stake in Twitter
Elon Musk, arguably one of Twitter's most prolific users, is now the social media platform's biggest shareholder, according to a report by HuffPost. The report cites a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
Specifically, The Verge reports that the billionaire CEO now owns 9.2% of Twitter. The stake is reportedly to have been purchased on March 14 and is described to be a passive stake.
The report also mentions that Musk's stocks are worth around $2.89 billion based on Friday's closing prices.
As of press time, the Tesla CEO has around 80.1 million followers on his Twitter account and only follows 112 accounts.
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Musk Previously Said Twitter is Failing to Adhere to Free Speech Principles
The Verge's report notes that his purchase of the 9.2% stake seems to have happened a day before Musk published a tweet critizing Twitter for its failure to adhere 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," his tweet reads.
Quoted in that tweet is another tweet wherein Musk ran a poll asking his followers if they believe that Twitter adheres to the principle that free speech is very important to what he describes as a "functioning democracy." Majority of the respondents had voted no.
You can view the poll below:
The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
It was previously reported that the SpaceX CEO was considering of creating his own social media platform following his criticisms against Twitter. Musk said at that time that he was giving the idea some serious thought.
Twitter's Shares Soar After Musk Purchase Stake
According to a report by CNBC, "Twitter shares surged more than 25% in the premarket." The surge follows Musk's purchase of the passive shares.
The fact that his shares are classified as passive means "investors were bidding shares higher on the chance this could lead to something more," the report adds.
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