Photo: Alamy
Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter and take the company private on Thursday to make necessary changes to improve the company’s adherence to free speech principles.
Musk wrote a letter to Twitter’s Chairman of the Board, Bret Taylor, explaining, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
Musk explained that in the days following his investment, he has concluded, “The company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.” He added, “Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
After an SEC filing revealed last week that Musk had purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, the company expected him to join the board of directors as the largest shareholder in the company. However, days later, Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, informed the company that Musk had declined his offer to join the board of directors.
Musk’s refusal to join the board of directors left Americans wondering whether he might be considering a larger investment into the company by avoiding a 14.9 share limitation placed on members of Twitter’s board of directors.
Now, Musk seems to be making good on his promise of making “significant improvements” to the social media platform by offering to buy the company and transform its structure from public to private ownership.
In his letter to the chairman, Musk said, “I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.”
Musk said his proposal is his “best and final offer” to purchase the company. He emphasized, “If it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
Musk concluded, “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
