Twitter Shares Shoot Up 25% as Elon Musk Takes 9.2% Stake in Company

• Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has taken up about 73 million shares in Twitter, which represents a 9.2% stake in the company, according to a filing that was released by the SEC today

• The stake is worth $2.89 billion, going by the closing price of shares on Friday when it was purchased

• The buy comes just over a week after Musk criticised the social media company for its limitation of free speech

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has become one of the largest shareholders in Twitter after the billionaire purchased a 9.2% passive stake in the social media company.

According to a 13G filing that was released by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday morning, the outspoken Tesla boss owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter Inc. His stake in the company is worth $2.89 billion, based on the closing price of the shares on Friday.

Elon Musk’s buy into Twitter comes less than two weeks after the SpaceX founder criticised the social media company for its limitation on free speech. Musk created a poll on Twitter, asking people if the social media company adheres to free speech principles.

The tweet can be seen below:

Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.

Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022

While the stake is classified as passive, investors have bought into Twitter stocks on the chance that this could lead to something more. At press time, Twitter shares were up more than 25%.

As a passive shareholder, Musk will take no active part in the running of the company but benefit from his investment if stocks go up.

Elon Musk is a frequent user of Twitter and the world’s richest man uses the platform to interact with his more than 80 million followers.

Follow Naija.FM on our social media handles Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with trending news, breaking news, and entertainment news.