The richest man in the world, Musk, struck a deal on Monday to buy the social network for roughly $44 billion.
The company agreed to be sold to Mr. Musk for a 38 percent premium over its share price before he revealed he was the firm's largest shareholder. It would be the largest deal to take a company private.
Mr. Musk said in a statement 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. He wanted to make it better.
The deal caps a bizarre attempt by Mr. Musk to buy the social media company and raises questions about what he will do with the platform and how his actions will affect online speech around the world.
The billionaire, who has more than 83 million followers on the service, has repeatedly said he wants to transform the platform by promoting more free speech and giving users more control. Taking the company private would allow Mr. Musk to work on the service out of the public eye.
It will likely be intense. Although it has more users than any other social platform, it is not the biggest, and it has had an outsized role in shaping narratives around the world. Political leaders have used it as a megaphone, while companies, celebrities and others have used it for image-making and brand building.
In recent years, some users have spread misinformation and other toxic content on the service, which has become a lightning rod for controversy. After the January 6 riot at the Capitol, Donald J. Trump was barred from the platform. The company has had to create policies on the fly many times.
In a statement, Taylor said the board had conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess the proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for the company's stockholders.
Mr. Musk had a rocky relationship with online speech. He tried to quash the account that tracked the movements of his private jet, citing personal and safety reasons. On Monday, he said he hoped his worst critics would stay on the social networking site.
Without any conditions for Musk to purchase Twitter, the platform's community standards and recourse to ban users who violate those standards, could set a dangerous precedent for other social media companies to follow.
Beyond speech issues, there are questions about its business. The company has struggled to gain new users and keep people coming back to the service. The main way that it makes revenue is through advertising. For the last 10 years, the company has not turned a profit.
It's not clear how hands-on Mr. Musk will be. There are unanswered questions about who he might pick to lead the company and how involved he would be in running the service. Mr. Musk has other companies, such as Neuralink and the Boring Company, that are related to technology.
Mike and Lauren.
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