JMP Securities equity analyst Andrew Boone and T3 Trading CSO Scott Redler analyze the billionaire entrepreneur’s bid for the social media giant in The Claman Countdown.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is willing to spend $43 billion on Twitter to ensure what he calls the world’s “de facto town hall” becomes a platform that plays fair.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWTR | Twitter Inc. | 45.08 | -0.77 | -1.68% |
“I could technically afford it,” Musk, whose net worth is $264 billion, said during his TED Talk with Chris Anderson on Thursday after he made an offer to take Twitter private.
MUSK Teases Plan B If Twitter Turns Down $43B Offer
Elon Musk speaks at SESSION 11 at TED2022: A New Era. 10th-14th April 2022, Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Photo: Ryan Lash / TED)
“But what I’m saying is that this is not a way to make money. My goodness A strong, intuitive feeling is that having a public platform that is maximally familiar and inclusive is extremely important for the future of civilization. I’m not interested in business at all,” he explained hours after making his blockbuster bid for the social media giant.
CALIFORNIANIANS APPLY ELON MUSK-TWITTER TAKEOVER BATTLE
In Musk’s quest for justice, he still creates windfalls for shareholders and management.
The social media giant’s market value hit $40 billion when it announced its 9.2% stake in the company this month, up from $29.9 billion on Jan. 31, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group , when he first began secretly charging stocks to the investing public.
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Twitter stocks YTD 2022
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission released on April 4 describes its purchases, which lasted until April 1 and were capped at $39.34. The stock is up over 16% this year, compared to a 6% decline in the Nasdaq Composite.
Host Chris Anderson and Elon Musk speak at SESSION 11 at TED2022: A New Era. 10th-14th April 2022, Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Gilberto Tadday/TED)
Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” insisted that overhauling Twitter is key to democracy.
“It’s important to the functioning of the United States as a free country and many other countries, and actually to helping freedom in the world on a broader scale than the US,” he said.
“It’s bloody annoying when someone you don’t like says something you don’t like. It’s a sign of a healthy, functioning freedom of speech,” he said.
Musk also said he has another plan in case Twitter’s board declines his offer, without being specific. On Thursday evening, Twitter announced that its board is considering the offer.