Elon Musk Buys 9.2 Percent Stake in Twitter, Sending Stock Soaring

Twitter’s stock soared in premarket trading Monday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed a more than 9 percent stake in the social media giant, making him one of its largest shareholders.

As of 7:25 a.m. ET, Twitter shares were up more than 24 percent at $48.81.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Musk detailed holding nearly 73.5 million shares of Twitter, disclosing that this amounted to a stake of approximately 9.2 percent. CNBC noted that this makes him the largest outside shareholder of the company. Musk’s stake was worth around $2.89 billion, based on the firm’s Friday closing price.

The outspoken entrepreneur didn’t immediately share a reason for his investment.

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However, Musk often has used Twitter, where he has more than 80 million followers, to comment on various issues, including stocks and even Twitter itself. As of late, he has posted surveys asking respondents about Twitter’s commitment to free speech and even suggested he was considering starting a rival social media firm of his own.

“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk wrote in one recent post before asking: “What should be done?” When someone suggested launching a rival, the businessman said he was “giving serious thought” to the idea.

Former President Donald Trump was kicked off social media platforms following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots and has launched his own networking platform, dubbed Truth Social, which positions itself as a conservative-friendly alternative to Twitter & Co. But a waiting list and tech glitches have been among its challenges.

Twitter is now led by CEO Parag Agrawal, who received a compensation package worth more than $30.3 million in 2021, driven by his promotion to the top job, as the social media firm disclosed in a regulatory filing last week. Agrawal succeeded co-founder Jack Dorsey late last year. Dorsey has remained on Twitter’s board, but will leave when his term ends this year. He was paid $1.40 in 2021, a reference to Twitter’s well-known original limit of 140 characters per post.