Elon Musk, the celebrity billionaire and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has purchased a 9% stake in Twitter Inc., sending the mini-blogging social media’s stock value to $49.34 per share in premarket trading, a 26% rise, The Wall Street Journal reported this Monday, April 4.
Musk holds 73,486,938 shares of common stock held by the Elon Musk Revocable T 2003, according to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
The stake is worth $2.9 billion, based on Twitter’s closing price of $39.31 per share on Friday (April 1) and jumped by over a quarter of its value when the market opened on Monday.
Last month, Musk, who has taken to Twitter to criticize the platform, said he is considering launching a social media platform, according to Reuters.
Musk has been critical of Twitter’s policies, arguing that the company doesn’t adhere to free speech principles. Musk recently ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believe Twitter was sticking to the principles of free speech, adding in another tweet that the poll’s consequences “will be important.”
“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk tweeted. 70% of respondents voted No on the poll, backing Musk’s questioning of Twitter’s policies towards restricting what is published on their app.
Reuters commented that if Musk does go ahead and make a new platform, he’d be part of a growing contingent of tech companies positioning themselves as “champions of free speech.”
The stake makes Musk the largest Twitter shareholder, exceeding founder Jack Dorsey’s 2.25% shares.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
College Sports Leaders in Intensive Talks to Settle NIL Antitrust Case Against NCAA
Apr 30, 2024 by
CPI
EU Investigates Facebook’s and Instagram’s Handling of Disinformation Ahead of Elections
Apr 30, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Lawsuit Targets Hotel Giants for Alleged Price Fixing with AI
Apr 30, 2024 by
CPI
ABA Seeks to Join FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon Over Antitrust Concerns
Apr 30, 2024 by
CPI
Google Agrees to Pay News Corp for AI-Related Content
Apr 30, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI