The Tesla boss is now also a major shareholder of Twitter.
(Photo: AP)
Dusseldorf Tesla boss Elon Musk has built up a 9.2 percent stake in the short message service Twitter. This emerges from a mandatory notification to the stock exchange that was published on Monday. According to the report, the 50-year-old bought a total of 73.5 million Twitter shares worth $2.89 billion, making him the largest shareholder. After the publication of the announcement, the price shot up by 26 percent before the market.
In purely arithmetic terms, Musk made a profit of around $700 million in one fell swoop. But it will hardly be about the money in the first place. The billionaire has a long history with the platform. The Tesla boss and founder of Space X has more than 80 million followers on Twitter, posts and replies day and night on the short message service. Some surprising announcements via tweet have brought the billionaire into trouble with the SEC on several occasions.
Just over a week ago Musk wrote via Twitter, the service is the “de facto public marketplace” but does not adhere to the “principles of free speech”. It “undermines democracy”. Musk was apparently referring to Twitter’s censorship of various entries. As the largest shareholder, Musk can now address his complaint directly to the board of directors and board of directors.