Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been quiet over the past few days on Twitter, and now we know why—he was drumming up an offer to buy the company.
On Thursday morning, Musk said, “I made an offer” and shared a link to an SEC filing, where he is offering to buy the rest of Twitter for $41 billion in cash.
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
In a letter written to Bret Taylor, Chairman of the Board at Twitter, Musk says, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” added Musk.
“As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” explains the letter.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” concluded Musk.
The following was sent via text message by Musk. “As I indicated this weekend, I believe that the company should be private to go through the changes that need to be made.”
“After the past several days of thinking this over, I have decided I want to acquire the company and take it private,” said the Tesla CEO. “I am going to send you an offer letter tonight, it will be public in the morning. Are you available to chat?”
The conversation with Musk and Twitter according to the SEC filing says the offer is “best and final” and that he is not “playing the back-and-forth game.”
“I have moved straight to the end,” says Musk, noting “It’s a high price and your shareholders will love it.”
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” said Musk, noting, “This is not a threat, it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made.”
In order for Twitter to make changes Musk says it needs to go private. “My advisors and my team are available after you get the letter to answer any questions,” said the SpaceX CEO.
“There will be more detail in our public filings. After you receive the letter and review the public filings, your team can call my family office with any questions.”
As of writing, shares of Tesla are down 3.2%, while Twitter is up 3.3%. Musk will be speaking at today’s TED Talk in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and you can bet interviewer Chris Anderson–the head of TED–will be asking him about this deal as his first question.
And NOW what should I ask him? Interview happens in about four hours' time. 😬 https://t.co/U7XQ0tIsPM
— Chris Anderson (@TEDchris) April 14, 2022
…developing, more to follow
