Hey, guys? You know how people say we may be living in hell? Well, it turns out they’re right. I say that because, after years of rallying against Twitter and even teasing his own competitor social media site, Elon Musk has reportedly bought a 9.2 percent stake in the company.
Gadzooks.
Bloomberg reports that Musk is now the social media platform’s biggest shareholder. It’s bad news for us but great news for stock bros. Shares are up over 25 percent already. They also report the stake is worth about $2.89 billion, which is chump change for Musk.
Before y’all get upset in the comments that this isn’t “car news,” I’d just like to say that if the richest person in the world (who owns the most valuable car company in the world) buys a plurality stake in one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, I think there should be a story about it.
The eccentric Tony Stark cosplayer polled his 80 million twitter followers last month. He asked them whether the company adheres to principles of free speech. The poll went as you would expect it to.
It’s the latest shakeup on the corporate side of Twitter. From the Bloomberg article:
“The announcement will be yet another major test for new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who replaced Jack Dorsey after he unexpectedly resigned in November. Agrawal vowed to increase accountability, make decisions faster and to improve product execution. The company set ambitious goals for growth including increasing annual revenue to $7.5 billion and getting to 315 million daily users by the end of 2023.
Musk posted a cryptic meme in December after Twitter announced that Agrawal was taking over from Dorsey as Twitter’s CEO. It depicted Agrawal as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and Dorsey as Soviet secret police head Nikolai Yezhov being shoved into water.”
“It looks like Elon has his eyes laser set on Twitter,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a research note, adding that the stake could lead to a “more aggressive ownership role.”
It’s unclear what Musk is planning with his stake. The filing with the SEC shows that the date of the event that triggered the disclosure was March 14. The type of form used often indicates the investor isn’t seeking to acquire control of a company, or to influence who controls it.
So, it seems only time can tell what Musk plans to do with his new asset. One thing is for sure though: It’s Elon’s world, and we’re just living in it.