Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2 % stake in Twitter Inc. to become the platform’s largest shareholder, a week after carrying out a poll on his over 80million followers to gain more insight into Twitter’s adherence to free speech principles.
On March 25, the business magnate tweeted: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”
After more than 70% said no, he asked whether a new platform was needed and said he was giving serious thought to starting his own.
In another tweet, Elon added: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.”
Musk reportedly purchased around 73.4 million common shares in the microblogging platform as a result, Twitter shares surged about 26% in premarket trading upon it’s revelation on Monday in a regulatory filing.
The stake, which is worth about $2.89 billion, based on Friday’s market close would make Musk the company’s largest shareholder, nearly four times the size of founder Jack Dorsey’s 2.25% stake.
