The founder and CEO of the automaker Tesla, Elon Musk bought 9.2 percent of the shares of the social network Twitter on Monday. as announced by the platform in a statement sent to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a week after suggesting its interest in entering the sector.
According to the statement, the tycoon bought a total of 73.5 million shares Twitter of a total of 800.6 million titles that make up the company’s share capital, which represents a 9.2 percent stake.
The Musk purchase, made through the Elon Musk Revocable Trust and equivalent to a total of US$ 2,888 million (according to the closing value on the stock market last Friday), places the businessman as the main shareholder of the communications platform.
Musk, with a net worth of 287,000 million dollars, is the richest person in the world today, according to a ranking by Forbes Magazine.
The tweet that anticipated the purchase
Weeks ago, the CEO of Tesla and Space X, and frequent user of Twitter, he consulted his 80 million followers in a survey on whether or not the social network adheres “rigorously” to the principle that freedom is essential to democracy.
Two days later, after a majority that leaned “no”, Musk wondered if “a new platform is necessary”.
“Since Twitter fulfills a function as a public square and fails to adhere to the principles of freedom of expression, this undermines democracy. What can we do?” Musk posted through his personal account.
In this framework, and in response to a user, He said he was “seriously thinking” about creating a new platform.
Twitter stock, after today’s announcement, They were up more than 22 percent in pre-open trading on Wall Street.
The purchase of Musk, whose role in the company is still unknown, occurs months after profound changes in the leadership of Twitter, after the resignation of its CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey last November.