Everything Elon Musk touches turns to GOLD.
The multi-billionaire tycoon has taken up many orphan but ambitious projects & made them into legit companies.
Create reusable rockets — Check!
Turn electrical vehicles mainstream — Check!
Construct massive tunnels under Las Vegas — Check!
Buildd a global internet broadband service — Check!
Colonize Mars — Someday for sure!
Seems like Musk has taken upon himself to solve all the world's problems! And his next pet project might be our beloved Twitter!
Yes, you heard that right! Musk has bought 9.2% of Twitter's stake, making him the largest shareholder. To put things in context, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey owns 2% of Twitter, making Musk's ownership 5 times that of Dorsey's!
Now, there is a lot of speculation about what Musk plans for Twitter. Did he simply spend ~$3B to add an edit button to the UI, or is Musk aiming for something big?
Well, we've got the receipts to answer these questions. So, let's get into it!
Leading up to the BIG purchase!
On March 25th, Elon Musk polled his 80M followers asking them if they "believe Twitter rigorously adheres to the principle of free speech".
The results were resoundingly clear — 70% of the over 2M votes said "No".
The next day, Musk followed this up with another tweet almost hinting that he might consider buildd-ing a new Twitter-like platform. His major concern was that any platform that fails to adhere to the free speech principle fundamentally undermines democracy.
The entire narrative quickly took a 180-degree turn, when just in a span of 10-days, Musk went from criticizing Twitter to becoming its largest shareholder.
Naturally, this raised a lot of eyebrows, with some suggesting that the poll was likely a gimmick to drive down Twitter share values so Musk can get a better deal.
But, here's an important fact — Musk had actually bought these shares back on 14th March. So, what exactly are these major consequences he is hinting at?
What does this investment mean for Musk?
Now, a simple answer could be just that this makes for a great investment for Musk.
Given that Twitter's share price was at an all-time low in March 2022, things could only peak with Musk involved!
But, that explanation is a little too simple. What we know about his past investments clearly suggests that he is not an 'investor' type billionaire.
The only major publicly traded stock he owns is his own electrical vehicle company, Tesla. Back in 2021, following another one of his dubious polls, Musk, in fact, sold 10% of his Tesla share worth $1.02B.
So, is Musk simply relying on polls to decide the fate of his $270B net worth?
Well, that doesn't sound right either!
Knowing Musk & his affinity for complex problems that no one wants to touch, it seems like he might have some big plans for Twitter!
Will this solve all of Twitter's problems?
Now, while we are still in speculation mode, it's still unclear what this investment means for Musk. But, for Twitter, association with Musk only means good things!
Think about it, the billionaire is known for moving markets with simple tweets. So, purchasing 73.5M Twitter shares surely must do wonders.
Well, that's right! After the announcement, Twitter shares very quickly soared by a near 27%!
This is a huge blessing, especially after it struggled to meet ends while it made a loss of $221M in 2021.
Musk's plans with Twitter!
But, is Musk planning to revamp the whole Twitter hemisphere to make it more pro-free speech? And will he go after a board seat?
Well, till just yesterday, Musk had no such power. He only owned a passive stake in Twitter. This means he doesn't have an active part in running the company.
But, many analysts speculated that if Musk is willing to spend $3B, he might eventually outright buy Twitter or at least gain more control.
We know Musk adores Twitter & Twitter loves Musk, so this is not a far-out assumption. And, with a $270B net worth, this purchase would simply be pocket change for Musk.
But, very surprisingly the analysts HIT the bull's eye!
Yesterday, after quote tweeting Musk's poll about adding an EDIT button, Twitter CEO Parag Aggarwal announced that they are appointing Elon Musk to their Board!
Following this news & given Musk's unpredictable nature, all the wild theories that cropped up yesterday are fair game.
Let's see if we finally get the EDIT button. But, we can surely expect some BIG changes in the coming months!
