Elon Musk, U.S. billionaire and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has offered to buy Twitter. Notably, the company's co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey once referred to Musk as his single favorite Twitter user.
On Thursday, Musk confirmed—via Twitter, naturally—that he had submitted a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) outlining his intentions to purchase one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
The statement reveals that Musk intends to purchase 100 percent of Twitter's shares not already owned by him for $54.20 per share, a figure that is 54 percent higher than the day before Musk began investing in Twitter on January 28 this year.
Musk said his offer was final and that "I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder" if it were to be declined.
It remains to be seen what will happen next, though perhaps some clues lie in Dorsey's opinion of Musk. It's no secret that the two have been chummy in the past, notably over their shared interest in cryptocurrency.
While Dorsey is no longer Twitter's CEO—that title has belonged to Parag Agrawal since November last year—he remains part of the company's board of directors and owns a reported 2.25 percent stake in the company.
Back in February, 2019, Dorsey took part in an entirely on-Twitter interview with journalist Kara Swisher. At one point, Swisher asked Dorsey who he thought was "the most exciting influential [user] on Twitter right now".
He responded: "To me personally? I like how Elon Musk uses Twitter. He's focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking openly. I respect that a lot, and all the ups and downs that come with it."
To me personally? I like how @elonmusk uses Twitter. He’s focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking openly. I respect that a lot, and all the ups and downs that come with it #karajack
— jack⚡️ (@jack) February 12, 2019
It was not the first time Dorsey had praised Musk. At the 2016 Dmexco digital marketing event in Cologne, Germany, Dorsey used Musk as an example of how Twitter can be used as a tool by prominent figures to humanize themselves.
"He's constantly on Twitter, constantly talking about what they are doing and how he's feeling about it as well," Dorsey said, according to Business Insider. "He gets into conversation, he loves what he does, he's a scientist and he geeks out on the platform and he has conversations about this as well."
More recently, Dorsey has been explicit about his support for Musk joining the Twitter board as an investor. He tweeted on April 5: "I'm really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter's role in it."
Musk later declined to join the board but remains the company's largest shareholder. Agrawal, Twitter's current CEO, said the company would "remain open to his input".
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
