Elon Musk claims not to be interested in the economics of buying Twitter, but for the sake of civilization

In the first few months of 2022, billionaire CEO Elon Musk Tesla quietly spent more than $2.9 billion buying Twitter stock. As a result, he now owns more than 9.2% of the company – and now he is also vying for the remaining 90.8%. Last week, in a letter to Twitter’s chairman of the board, he offered an additional $43 billion for the remaining stock.

Recently, at a TED202 conference, CEO Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX said he is not interested in the economics of acquiring Twitter. His comments come after a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 14 showed that the billionaire had offered to buy the social media platform for a price. 43 billion dollars. “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Musk said in a letter to Twitter president Bret Taylor included in a filing with the SEC. Musk also said that his preference to buy the Twitter company is not for monetary reasons, but to support the interests of civilization.

When asked why he made the offer worth tens of billions of dollars in an interview at the TED2022 conference, Musk told TED’s Chris Anderson, “I think it’s very important to have a fight. comprehensive school for free speech”.

According to Musk, it is important for people to have both “the fact and the perception that they are free to speak within the bounds of the law”. The offer also stems from a “strong, intuitive sense that having a public platform that is “maximum trusted and widely embraced is critically important to the future of civilization.” humanity,” Musk added.

Meanwhile, experts say, Elon Musk may have what it takes to acquire one of the biggest social media companies on the planet. Musk has built hugely successful companies in the past, and he can put his vision on the social platform, his foresight business mindset can streamline product deployment and new ideas for this social platform, a Wall Street analyst said. It’s “not a way to make money,” he said, adding that “I don’t care about economics”.

However, Twitter’s board had other plans: In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the board approved a measure known as a “poison pill.” the so-called “shareholder rights agreement”. Twitter used shareholder rights to prevent billionaire Elon Musk from increasing his stake and block his plan to buy Twitter outright for $43 billion. Here, the “poison pill” – another name for a shareholder rights plan – is a measure to prevent a shareholder from increasing his shares above a certain limit, by allowing shareholders to Others buy more shares at a lower price. This measure is often used by businesses to defend against hostile takeover plans or to have more time to consider options. But Musk doesn’t seem shaken.

In conversation with Anderson, Musk did not claim to be the perfect leader for Twitter. Musk emphasized that he is not sure if he can buy the company. However, a latest SEC regulatory filing shows that Musk has secured funding commitments totaling $46.5 billion to acquire Twitter. In a regulatory filing published on April 22, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that he obtained agreements from banks and other institutions “committed to providing a total financing of approximately 46 $5 billion” for a potential tender offer to acquire Twitter.

In other words, he’s willing to pitch his offering directly to shareholders, which could effectively reduce the potential for interference by Twitter’s board and management. This is also the latest development in a heated story unfolding as Musk seeks to gain control of this social network.

In the April 22 application, Musk said the company has not yet responded to that offer and that he remains “prepared to initiate such negotiations at any time”. Twitter has publicly acknowledged the deal offer but has yet to respond further.

Records show Musk has received letters of commitment from several banks to finance his proposed takeover of the social media company. However, Musk could bear $1 billion in annual interest payments if he succeeds in the Twitter public offering.

On Twitter, Musk has been vocal about how social media platforms seem to stifle free speech – a rallying call often heard from conservatives. His offer to buy the company has added fuel to the culture war, with Republicans like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ambushing the company’s board, because of the board. want to oppose the acquisition for ideological reasons.

“Freedom of speech is essential to a working democracy,” Musk said in March. “Do you believe that Twitter strictly adheres to this principle?”