Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been buying Twitter shares on almost a daily basis since the end of January, spending $2.64 billion for his current stake in the company, according to a SEC filing on Tuesday.
The disclosure came through a 13D filing, which confirms that Musk has intentions to be more active in Twitter’s business. On Monday, the company indicated that Musk had 9.2% ownership in the company, but it was via a 13G filing, which points to a passive stake for a holder who isn’t trying to exert control or influence.
Tuesday’s filing said he owns 73,115,038 Twitter shares, or 9.1% of the company. At the close of trading, those shares were worth $3.73 billion. Musk crossed the 5% threshold on March 14.
The flip to becoming an active investor follows an announcement by Twitter and CEO Parag Agrawal on Tuesday that the company will appoint Musk to its board of directors.
Musk, according to the latest filing, has been purchasing shares in his preferred social media company since Jan. 31, and extending through April 1.
The largest purchase came on Feb. 7, when he bought more than 4.8 million shares worth $176 million. Twitter shares closed at their low point for the year on March 7, at $32.42. They ended January at $37.51.
For as long as Musk is serving on the board, or 90 days after, he can’t own more than 14.9% of Twitter’s stock, either as an individual or as a member of a group, according to Monday’s filing.
Minutes after Musk’s filing appeared online, Twitter said that in the next few months it will test “an edit feature” that it had been working on since last year. On Monday, Musk had posted a Twitter poll asking if users “want an edit button,” a longtime request among account holders. Of the 4 million respondents, 74% voted yes.
On March 25, before Musk disclosed the Twitter stake, he asked his tens of millions of followers on the platform: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” He also suggested he may form his own social network if followers believed one may be needed.