On April 4, Tesla Motor’s CEO Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter, worth nearly $3 billion (19 billion yuan), making him Twitter’s largest shareholder and triggering a rise of over 27% in the company’s shares.
Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal announced the move on Twitter, and he believes that the Tesla CEO will “bring great value” to the board. Musk also plans to bring “significant improvements to Twitter in coming months”.
Why it matters
He has previously questioned Twitter’s commitment to free speech and suggested launching his own social platform. While it is unclear what role Musk plans to play, analysts speculate that he may attempt a major restructure that would change the way Twitter manages its platform and the people it evicts.
According to sources familiar with the case, some inside Twitter are concerned that Musk may drive the firm on a libertarian path rather than blocking or restricting users who are causing social harm.
Context
Musk has always been the source of much debate in some cutting-edge fields such as cryptocurrency, electric automobiles, and rockets, and he has a big influence on Twitter with a significant number of followers.
The 50-year-old Musk remains the world’s richest man ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a fortune of $219 billion (1.39 trillion yuan), according to Forbes’ 2022 List of the world’s billionaires.
