Tesla CEO Elon Musk has just revealed that he has become the largest single shareholder of Twitter, a company he has criticized in the past.
What happened?
In the less than 24 hours after revealing his giant stake in Twitter, Elon Musk is already shaking things up as always by asking his more than 80 million followers on Twitter about changes that they might like to see on the platform. The news of the world's richest man acquiring a 9.2% stake in Twitter sent the social media network's stocks soaring by 27%.
What does it mean?
For now, Elon Musk is a passive investor in the company but all that could change soon. As the saying goes, Musk isn't one who's known to put a toe in the water, he dives into the deep end of the pool. The billionaire has already earned a reputation as a prolific and sometimes controversial voice.
Some investors hanging on his every word. Like buying Dogecoin as he cheered on the joke crypto currency which crashed after his appearance on SNL.
Why?
He has also been a vocal critic of Twitter, questioning whether the platform adheres to free speech principles. He even hinted at launching a competitor. After the acquisition, he began mocking his critics by asking his 80 million followers if it was time for an edit button.
The poll has received over 3 million votes, with 73% of the voters choosing yes. The 9.2% stake is worth more than 3 Billion Dollars.
What are the ramifications?
Twitter isn't the largest social media platform but it sets the tone for all media news coverage. Twitter is where the professional class goes to gauge which opinions are acceptable and which are forbidden. If the public conversation suddenly feels stilted or one-sided it's because in part, Twitter itself is biased.
Anyone who expresses a heterodox opinion, even if it's true, usually gets banned from the platform. Elon Musk understands how this works, and the coming days will only tell us what Elon Musk has planned to advance his principles of free speech.
