Jan. 31: Musk begins buying Twitter stock in near-daily installments, earning a 5% stake in the company through mid-March.
March 26: Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers and is active on the site, said he was “seriously considering” building an alternative to Twitter that questioned freedom of expression on the platform and whether Twitter undermined democracy . He also reaches out privately to Twitter board members, including his friend and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
March 27: After privately updating them on his growing stake in the company, Musk begins talks with Twitter’s CEO and board members about potentially joining the board. According to later filings for approval, Musk also mentions taking Twitter private or starting a competitor.
April 4: A regulatory filing shows Musk has quickly become Twitter’s largest shareholder after acquiring a 9% stake, or 73.5 million shares worth about $3 billion.
April 5: Musk is offered a seat on Twitter’s board of directors on condition that he amasses no more than 14.9% of the company’s stock. CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet that “we realized he would bring great value to our board.”
April 11: Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announces that Musk will not join the board after all.
April 14: Twitter reveals in a securities filing that Musk has offered to buy the company outright for about $44 billion.
April 15: Twitter’s board of directors unanimously passes a “poison pill” defense in response to Musk’s proposed offer and seeks to thwart a hostile takeover.
April 21: Musk provides $46.5 billion in funding to buy Twitter. The Twitter board is under negotiating pressure.
April 25: Musk agrees to buy Twitter for $44 billion and privatize the company. The outspoken billionaire has said he wants to own and privatize Twitter because he believes it’s not fulfilling its potential as a free speech platform.
April 29: Musk sells about $8.5 billion worth of Tesla stock to fund purchase of Twitter, according to regulatory filings.
May 5: Musk ramps up his bid to buy Twitter with commitments of more than $7 billion from a diverse group of investors, including Silicon Valley heavyweights like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
May 10: In a nod to how he would change Twitter, Musk says he would reverse former President Donald Trump’s Twitter ban after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot in the US Capitol, calling the ban “morally bad.” Decision” and “extremely foolish.’
May 13: Musk said his plan to buy Twitter was “temporarily on hold.” Musk said he needs to pinpoint the number of spam and fake accounts on the social media platform. Twitter stocks plummet while Tesla stocks rebound sharply.
June 6: Musk threatens to end his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, accusing the company of refusing to give him information about its spam bot accounts.
July 8: Musk tells Twitter that he is canceling the agreement because the company would not release information about spam bots
July 12: Twitter files a lawsuit seeking a court ruling that forces Musk to complete the merger at the agreed price
July 19: A Delaware judge says the lawsuit between Musk and Twitter will go to trial in October
August 23: A former Twitter security chief claims the company misled regulators about its weak cybersecurity defenses and its laxity in trying to root out fake accounts that spread misinformation. Musk finally names the whistleblower as a new reason to destroy his Twitter deal
October 5: Musk offers to go through with his initial proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Twitter says it intends to complete the transaction after receiving Musk’s offer
October 6: The Delaware judge postpones the trial from October 17 to November, giving both sides until October 28 to reach an agreement to close the deal
Oct. 20: Musk told potential Twitter investors that he plans to lay off 75% of the company’s 7,500 employees, according to The Washington Post
Wednesday, October 26: Musk posts a video of himself entering Twitter headquarters with a kitchen sink, indicating the deal is set to go through
Thursday, October 27: Musk says in a message he sent to advertisers that Twitter will not become a “free hellscape.”
*Source: Associated Press