Elon Musk mulling offer to buy Twitter from shareholders for $46.5B

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Elon Musk is considering a tender offer to buy Twitter, and has secured $46.5 billion in financing commitments to help finance the potential purchase.

Elon Musk
Elon Musk


In an updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Musk said he is now exploring an offer to purchase some or all Twitter shares directly from shareholders, given the lack of response from Twitter's board of directors.

The filing adds that Musk has received commitments worth $46.5 billion to finance the deal, but has not yet determined whether he will make an offer or take additional steps toward one.

Earlier in April, Musk made a bid to buy Twitter outright for $41 billion. That came after the outspoken billionaire became Twitter's largest individual shareholder and was offered a spot on the company's board of directors.

In efforts to fend off a potentially hostile takeover, Twitter has implemented a "poison pill" plan that would give shareholders the ability to purchase more shares at a discount if any person or entity acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15% of Twitter's outstanding common stock.

Musk has criticized Twitter's content moderation policies, and has hinted that he would steer the company toward a hands-off approach to moderation if he purchased the social media platform.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 32
    He's got to find something to spend his $23B salary from Tesla on, hasn't he? (sic)
    I'm not and have never have been a Twitter user but personally, I hope he fails miserably.
    IMHO, he has more than enough on his plate with Tesla, Space X, The boring company, and his brain implants/android.
    twokatmewdrdavid
  • Reply 2 of 32
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 240member
    I guess we can finally put a price on "free speech."
    waveparticlewilliamlondonviclauyyc
  • Reply 3 of 32
    sbdudesbdude Posts: 259member
    He's got to find something to spend his $23B salary from Tesla on, hasn't he? (sic)
    I'm not and have never have been a Twitter user but personally, I hope he fails miserably.
    IMHO, he has more than enough on his plate with Tesla, Space X, The boring company, and his brain implants/android.

    Glad you hope he fails miserably, especially when you have no horse in the race. Also, if you think he single-handedly runs every company he's involved in, you're just as delusional as Twitter's board.
    socalbriangrandact73williamlondonviclauyycbyronl
  • Reply 4 of 32
    @rotateleftbyte, why do you "hope he fails miserably"? Because he's an advocate for free speech? Because he doesn't agree with the arbitrary and biased way Twitter (and other social media companies) censor the opinions of those often on the other side of the political spectrum? 

    I get it. Musk's personality can be off-putting. But should social media companies, which are the primary source for news for the majority of the population, be able to decide which views are allowed to be expressed, and which ones aren't? Should they be able to make stories disappear (Hunter Biden's laptop) if they deem it to be detrimental to their cause? And should there be no repercussions when posts flagged as fake news actually turn out to be true, while what has been pushed as the narrative is actually false?

    Americans should be extremely concerned when the actions of Big Tech and our own government begin to mirror those of totalitarian regimes. And that is exactly what has been happening. I'll take free speech any day over controlled speech. I want opinions challenged. I want public discourse and debate. I want to hear all sides and draw my own conclusions. Don't you? 
    h4y3smobirdbluefire1socalbriangrandact73williamlondonbyronl
  • Reply 5 of 32
    h4y3sh4y3s Posts: 82member
    Thank you @macinscott ;
    socalbrianwilliamlondonbyronl
  • Reply 6 of 32
    zeus423 said:
    I guess we can finally put a price on "free speech."
    Free speech has no relevance to corporate products/services. They can control/censor any speech on their platforms that they choose. None of that is a violation of anyone's "free speech". 
    edited April 2022 williamlondonurashiddrdavid
  • Reply 7 of 32
    @rotateleftbyte, why do you "hope he fails miserably"? Because he's an advocate for free speech? Because he doesn't agree with the arbitrary and biased way Twitter (and other social media companies) censor the opinions of those often on the other side of the political spectrum? 
    Musk is not an advocate for free speech. Free speech has absolutely nothing to do with corporate products/services. Twitter could announce tomorrow that they weren't going to allow anything other than cat photos to be posted and it wouldn't be a violation of anyone's free speech. 
    tdknoxqwerty52williamlondondrdavidSkeptical
  • Reply 8 of 32
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    zeus423 said:
    I guess we can finally put a price on "free speech."
    Free speech has no relevance to corporate products/services. They can control/censor any speech on their platforms that they choose. None of that is a violation of anyone's "free speech". 
    Sure it is.  Not in a criminal way, but for sure it's a violation.
    socalbrianzeus423byronlInspiredCode
  • Reply 9 of 32
    The leftist establishment U.S. gov't is prevented by the constitution from curtailing free speech, so they use Big Tech to do their unconstitutional dirty work (banning "Thoughtcrime") alongside delegitimization efforts via the corrupt corporate legacy media.

    The U.S. leftist establishment gov't gets Big Tech & the media to work for them by wielding the threat of "antitrust" actions which could decimate any company & against which there is no recourse against the establishment.

    Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, etc. all do what they're told.

    zeus423williamlondonInspiredCode
  • Reply 10 of 32
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    What an ego. A super-ego with no superego.
    williamlondondrdavid
  • Reply 11 of 32
    crowley said:
    zeus423 said:
    I guess we can finally put a price on "free speech."
    Free speech has no relevance to corporate products/services. They can control/censor any speech on their platforms that they choose. None of that is a violation of anyone's "free speech". 
    Sure it is.  Not in a criminal way, but for sure it's a violation.
    LOL...it's not possible for Twitter to violate free speech by removing posts that they consider to be a violation of their terms of service, just like it's not possible for the New York Times to violate free speech by not publishing the letter you sent to the editor or Fox News not inviting you to be a guest on Sean Hannity's show or Universal rejecting your screenplay. Every one of those companies is allowed to have their own standards for what they put out on their platforms.
    mknelsondewmetdknoxqwerty52williamlondonurashiddrdavidSkepticalVanilla
  • Reply 12 of 32
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,125member
    Also, to counter all the misinformation from the "Free Speech" crowd:

    https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/18/fascinating-new-study-suggests-again-that-twitter-moderation-is-biased-against-misinformation-not-conservatives/

    "Truth Detector"? It's like all the "Patriots" out there - I don't think you know the meaning of the word.
    foregoneconclusiontdknoxwilliamlondonurashiddrdavidSkepticalVanilla
  • Reply 13 of 32
    Here's an example of an actual "free speech" violation:

    A. State government passes a new law
    B. Corporation that operates in the state publicly criticizes the law
    C. State government responds with threats to punish the company that criticized the law.

    That's a classic 1st amendment violation. 
    tdknoxblastdoorwilliamlondonviclauyycurashiddrdavid
  • Reply 14 of 32
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    crowley said:
    zeus423 said:
    I guess we can finally put a price on "free speech."
    Free speech has no relevance to corporate products/services. They can control/censor any speech on their platforms that they choose. None of that is a violation of anyone's "free speech". 
    Sure it is.  Not in a criminal way, but for sure it's a violation.
    LOL...it's not possible for Twitter to violate free speech by removing posts that they consider to be a violation of their terms of service, just like it's not possible for the New York Times to violate free speech by not publishing the letter you sent to the editor or Fox News not inviting you to be a guest on Sean Hannity's show or Universal rejecting your screenplay. Every one of those companies is allowed to have their own standards for what they put out on their platforms.
    The NYT and Universal Pictures are very different prospects from a social network that embraces communication between its users.  As I said, it's not criminal, or even wrong (admittedly a matter of opinion), and Twitter are well within their rights to censor in whatever way them deem appropriate, but it nevertheless is censorship, and a violation of free speech.  Totally understandable and justifiable violations, in my opinion.
    socalbrian
  • Reply 15 of 32
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,278member
    Americans take democracy for granted. Maybe Musk just wants to change that.  ;)
    williamlondon
  • Reply 16 of 32
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,302member
    @rotateleftbyte, why do you "hope he fails miserably"? Because he's an advocate for free speech? Because he doesn't agree with the arbitrary and biased way Twitter (and other social media companies) censor the opinions of those often on the other side of the political spectrum? 

    I get it. Musk's personality can be off-putting. But should social media companies, which are the primary source for news for the majority of the population, be able to decide which views are allowed to be expressed, and which ones aren't? Should they be able to make stories disappear (Hunter Biden's laptop) if they deem it to be detrimental to their cause? And should there be no repercussions when posts flagged as fake news actually turn out to be true, while what has been pushed as the narrative is actually false?

    Americans should be extremely concerned when the actions of Big Tech and our own government begin to mirror those of totalitarian regimes. And that is exactly what has been happening. I'll take free speech any day over controlled speech. I want opinions challenged. I want public discourse and debate. I want to hear all sides and draw my own conclusions. Don't you? 
    Exactly! The public company censors comments that either stray outside of or contradict left-of-center talking points. As Musk recently tweeted, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.” He’s right.
    edited April 2022 socalbrianzeus423williamlondon
  • Reply 17 of 32
    I've never accepted claims of altruistic motivations at face value when billionaires are trying close a deal. Musk is particularly effective at convincing people what's he's doing is "for humanity" but when did people become so naive? I mean, did anyone really believe Google created Android as an "open" platform because of "don't be evil"? Google got so much "street cred" from tech geeks for that altruistic "open platform" messaging, before they created their own app store and closed services. I find it hilarious right now they're running ads day and night to rehab their image as a "defender" of your "privacy."
    edited April 2022 williamlondonauxiourashiddrdavid
  • Reply 18 of 32
    MondainMondain Posts: 21member
    bluefire1 said:
    @rotateleftbyte, why do you "hope he fails miserably"? Because he's an advocate for free speech? Because he doesn't agree with the arbitrary and biased way Twitter (and other social media companies) censor the opinions of those often on the other side of the political spectrum? 

    I get it. Musk's personality can be off-putting. But should social media companies, which are the primary source for news for the majority of the population, be able to decide which views are allowed to be expressed, and which ones aren't? Should they be able to make stories disappear (Hunter Biden's laptop) if they deem it to be detrimental to their cause? And should there be no repercussions when posts flagged as fake news actually turn out to be true, while what has been pushed as the narrative is actually false?

    Americans should be extremely concerned when the actions of Big Tech and our own government begin to mirror those of totalitarian regimes. And that is exactly what has been happening. I'll take free speech any day over controlled speech. I want opinions challenged. I want public discourse and debate. I want to hear all sides and draw my own conclusions. Don't you? 
    Exactly! The public company censors comments that either stray outside of or contradict left-of-center talking points. As Musk recently tweeted, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.” He’s right.

    You misunderstand the 2nd amendment. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to an audience or a megaphone.

    You are free to discuss any right-of-center talking points in your local town corner. Or if you want to discuss more loudly, use one of the several right-wing social media platforms as your audience and megaphone. Of course these sites are small, failing, and command a greater percentage of fringe lunatics than other social platforms.
    grayfox691williamlondondrdavid
  • Reply 19 of 32
    Free speech is critical, but it's not that simple. Social media companies have become a wasteland of misinformation and hate. Not every corner of that wasteland but more than enough that we all know it. Taking a hands-off approach to Twitter will certainly allow anyone to say anything they want, but it also opens the flood gates for hate, misinformation, and manipulation in general. You need rules and regulations at a minimal capacity for any community to function. 

    I'm tired of hearing folks mention that they want to read and hear everything from both sides so they can be informed. But that feels like wishful ideological thinking. Let's be honest; all of us tend to slide into the camp that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy even if we try not to. We aren't infallible.

    Anyway, I'm tired of it all and, in particular, Musk. I'm tired of billionaires, in general, stroking their egos as champions of the public. They do nothing to press for change that would fundamentally disadvantage themselves in favor of those they claim they Champion. It's all smoke and mirrors, resulting in greater wealth, power, and influence. What's the right way to fix this issue? It's impossible to say. Twitter has plenty of issues, but I don't trust Musk to do anything that doesn't put himself first. 
    graphicsguy
  • Reply 20 of 32
    KuyangkohKuyangkoh Posts: 838member
    sbdude said:
    He's got to find something to spend his $23B salary from Tesla on, hasn't he? (sic)
    I'm not and have never have been a Twitter user but personally, I hope he fails miserably.
    IMHO, he has more than enough on his plate with Tesla, Space X, The boring company, and his brain implants/android.

    Glad you hope he fails miserably, especially when you have no horse in the race. Also, if you think he single-handedly runs every company he's involved in, you're just as delusional as Twitter's board.
    Hahahaha…..that’s right he cant run all of that by himself
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