On Monday afternoon, the company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Musk for $54.20 per share in cash. This means that once the transaction is complete, it will be a privately held company.
The company will likely no longer be governed by its existing board, as a result of Musk's acquisition.
The purchase follows weeks of posturing by Musk and back-and-forth conversations between him and the board.
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy and a yes/no poll asking his followers if they agree was posted on March 25. The final poll result was more than 70%, with more than 2 million votes.
Musk said in two more messages that failing to adhere to free speech principles undermines democracy. Is a new platform needed?
It's important to point out that there is a lot of slack in the moderation of content on the social media platform. Less oversight could lead to the site becoming even more of a hub for misinformation.
On April 4, the world's most dying online billionaire announced that he had purchased 9.2% of the company's stock. He asked his followers if they wanted an edit button on the same day, though he didn't file the required SEC paperwork declaring the acquisition until after the DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch
On April 5, Parag Agrawal announced that Musk would be appointed to the social media company's board of directors. The platform hosted an interview with the South African, Apartheid-era, emerald heir due to the backlash from the employees and other people on the internet. On April 11, the deal fell through. Musk was going to join the board, but he realized that he wouldn't be able to acquire more than a 14.9% stake in the company.
In a statement directed to the rest of the board, he said that he believed this was for the best. The lawsuit was filed against Musk on April 12 because he didn't reveal his purchase quickly enough.
On April 13, Musk filed paperwork with the SEC stating that he intended to buy all of the shares of the company in cash. He threatened that if his offer was not accepted, he would sell all of his stake in the company. I will open it, he said ominously.
The rights plan was instituted on April 15. The plan made it possible for other shareholders to buy additional stock at a discount if one person were to acquire 15% or more of the company. This meant that the on-and-off-again boyfriend couldn't just buy all of the social network without talking with the board first.
Musk persisted. On April 24, the board entered negotiations with the tech genius that brought us Cybertruck. Between the announcement of those talks and Musk's final purchase of the social media site, the stock of Truth tanked by more than 5%. The platform was founded by Trump after he was banned from the social networking site. There will be less of a reason for "Truth" to exist if he is banned.
The First Amendment right to freedom of speech is not what Musk's worst critics still think. Nobody in the U.S. has a right to post on private social media platforms.
Musk is not the only one who has a misunderstanding. The definition of free speech is not grasped by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He said that the offer to buy Twitter is a good deal for shareholders and that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement.
It's not clear how the platform might change under Musk's guidance.
Neither Musk nor Twitter have responded to Gizmodo's request for comment.
In a statement announcing the acquisition, Musk said that free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy and that the digital town square is where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I want to make the product better by making it open source, increasing trust, and authenticating all humans.
According to the agreement, an unnamed entity wholly owned by Musk will pay approximately $44 billion. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, stockholders will receive a cash payment of $54.20 for each share of common stock they own. The last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his 9% stake in the company was April 1, 2022.
As the story develops, this page will be updated.
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