Tesla CEO Musk acquired 73.487 million Twitter common shares through his trust in mid-March and currently holds 9.2% of the social media company, according to documents he filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under the impact of this news, Twitter’s share price increased by almost 30%. According to the latest calculation of Tesla’s share price, his net worth is more than $273 billion, far ahead of Bezos, the former richest man in the world.
Musk is an intense user of Twitter, the social platform he is most obsessed with and the only social platform he devotes time to. Musk has more than 80 million followers on Twitter, and a single tweet can mobilize thousands of followers and send cryptocurrencies and a certain stock price soaring. He also enjoys the influence of being the “King of Twitter” very much. It is not an exaggeration to say that after former US President Trump lost his account, Musk is the most influential internet celebrity outside the entertainment sector on this global social media platform.
Since Musk publicly disparaged Zuckerberg in 2018, he has moved away from Facebook and Instagram, and Tesla has abandoned social marketing on those two platforms.
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk will serve as “director of the II class ” until 2024, that also prevents him from buying more than 15 percent of Twitter’s stock.
“The Company will appoint Mr. Musk to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders,” the filing says. “For so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions.”
This is a position that can be used as an “anti-takeover measure,” according to The Verge. That is, as a way to prevent Musk from buying up more shares and thus gaining more power in the company.
Previously, Elon Musk wanted to know if it was desirable to add an edit button on Twitter, which former director and founder Jack Dorsey declined. In early March, he also conducted a poll, which was about whether Twitter users think the platform acts in accordance with the principles of freedom of expression. When 70 percent answered no, he asked what should be done.
Perhaps today’s appointment shows that he wants to actively participate in the development.
