Twitter has agreed to sell itself for $44 billion (€41 billion) to Elon Musk, the world's richest man. The transaction places Tesla's CEO in charge of a corporation with 217 million users and a significant influence on both sides of the Atlantic's political and media agendas. After Mr Musk confirmed a funding package for the deal and shareholders warmed up to it, Twitter's initial reluctance to accept a transaction seemed to fade. Mr Musk, who has characterized himself as a "free speech absolutist," has hinted that Twitter may be revamped under his leadership, including adjustments to content control. The agreement comes after a tumultuous few weeks of uncertainty over Twitter's future, sparked by Mr Musk's announcement on April 4 that he was the platform's largest single shareholder.
On April 14, he announced a $43 billion acquisition approach, prompting Twitter's board to express its disapproval with his advances by adopting a so-called poison pill defense 24 hours later. Mr Musk set together a $46.5 billion finance plan for the deal, including $21 billion of his own money, and the apparent opposition of Twitter's board of directors disappeared. According to sources, once financing was in place, both shareholders and the Twitter board of directors began to take the offer seriously. Because Mr Musk's biggest commercial interests - an electric vehicle company, the SpaceX rocket business, and tunneling firm the Boring Company – do not compete with Twitter, the purchase is unlikely to attract substantial scrutiny from US competition regulators. Politicians and the public are expected to react to the agreement.
After the transaction is completed, Twitter will become a privately held firm, according to the company. In a post, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal remarked, "Twitter has a purpose and significance that influences the whole globe." "We are extremely proud of our teams and motivated by work that has never been more critical." Mr Musk stated in a recent TED appearance that he would want Twitter to err on the side of permitting expression rather than controlling it. He added he would be "very hesitant" to erase tweets and would be wary of permanent bans in general.
He also admitted that Twitter will have to follow national rules governing free speech in marketplaces all across the world. Mr Musk, on the other hand, routinely censors social media users who criticize him or his firm, and has bullied reporters who have written negative pieces about him or his company. At first, Twitter's board implemented a poison pill anti-takeover strategy that might have rendered a takeover effort prohibitively expensive. However, when Mr Musk detailed the financial obligations he had in place to support his $46.5 billion offer — and no other bids surfaced — the board began talks with him.
