OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
Elon Musk, the mega-billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla proposed to purchase Twitter for $54.20 a share, stating that it was his “best and final offer,” an increase of 54 percent over the share price in late January when he began investing. Musk would end up paying about $43 billion to own the company.
Musk stated, “I don’t have confidence in management” and that he couldn’t make the improvements he desired in the public market.
In a letter to Twitter, Musk said he is concerned that the company “will neither thrive nor serve [its free speech] societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” he added.
Morgan Stanley has been hired by Musk to advise him on the takeover of the social media company.
In the days before his decision not to accept the job on the board, it was speculated that he was now free to buy more stock and improve his position within the company.
Musk signed a contract with Twitter specifying the following terms if he stays on the board: “Mr. Musk agrees that, for so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps or hedging transactions.”
As a result of Musk’s decision not to join Twitter’s board, he is no longer bound by that condition, writer Yashar Ali said.
According to a statement by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Musk chose not to join the company’s board after being offered a seat.
“Elon Musk has decided not to join our board,” Agrawal explained. “The Board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board, and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat.”
“We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance,” Agrawal added. “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best.
“We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” Agrawal continued.
“There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” the statement added. “The decisions we make and how we execute are in our hands, no one else’s. Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.”
Former President Trump says he “probably” will not return to Twitter if Musk reinstates his account.
Americano Media interviewed Trump, who said he probably would not be interested in returning to the platform, where he had almost 90 million followers.
“You know, Twitter has become very boring. They’ve gotten rid of a lot of their good voices … a lot of their conservative voices,” Trump explained.
Musk announced that he had made a formal offer to buy Twitter outright around the time Trump made his statement.
Of course, Trump is working on his own social media platform, Truth Social, to rival the leftist-run Twitter. It’s difficult to build something of that magnitude overnight, though.
Fox Business reported:
Trouble appears to be brewing for former President Donald Trump’s social networking app Truth Social, according to several reports.
Mobile app market intelligence and insight provider SensorTower finds that user interest in Truth Social has taken a significant hit since its launch on Feb. 21. The firm estimates that Truth Social saw approximately 41,000 installs from March 21 to March 27, down 95% compared with 866,000 installs seen during its first week of launch. According to SensorTower, the app has been installed roughly 1.3 million times since launch.
Reuters and Politico also reported Truth Social’s chief technology, product development and legal officers have all resigned.
The data and reported departures come as the platform has struggled with a slow rollout plagued by technical issues and a waiting list that has blocked thousands of potential users from immediately joining. Truth Social initially set a goal to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter.
The Washington Post reported that Trump has “privately fumed” about Truth Social’s slow rollout, with one anonymous source telling the outlet that he has been reluctant to post on the platform because it is “not ready for prime time.”
Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California who serves as the Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive, pushed back on the reports.
“Despite what this phony narrative is out there, we are adding people every single day to our team, very high-powered, high-quality people, every single day. We’re adding people at every level and we’re not short of anyone,” Nunes told FOX Business Digital. “In fact, what we’re bringing people on for right now is future products.”
The company’s near-term focus, according to Nunes, is to continue to test and build out the platform and ensure all potential users who have downloaded the app from Apple’s App Store can get on the platform. The focus will then shift to launching the web version of the platform and getting the app on the Google Play Store for Android users.
Regardless of whether Musk is able to buy Twitter, Trump will surely not give up on his investment in Truth Social.
Source: The Republic Brief