Elon Musk acquires 9.2% of Twitter, Twitter’s stock prices soar over 25%

Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought a giant stake in Twitter, making him the most significant outside shareholder in the social media firm, not long after criticizing the social media platform for failing to uphold the tenets of free speech.

According to a regulatory filing, Musk has acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, purchasing approximately 73.5 million shares. The share is worth $2.89 billion, based on Twitter’s Friday closing stock price.

Elon Muk’s purchase comes less than two weeks after criticizing the social media platform, polling people on Twitter about whether Twitter adheres to free speech principles.

Last month, he also said he was considering building a new social media platform.

Musk’s stake in Twitter is considered a passive investment, with Musk being a long-term investor in the firm looking to minimize his buying and selling of the shares.

Musk’s use of Twitter has occasionally gotten into trouble for his tweets. In 2018 Elon Musk tweeted that he had secured finances to take Tesla private if it reached $420 a share. Then it emerged that he had not secured funding for sale and was forced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have Tesla’s lawyers pre-approve any tweets about its sales, delivery numbers, financial health, delivery numbers, and more.