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Elon Musk’s $41 billion hostile takeover bid for Twitter appeared to include yet another pot joke from the world’s richest man as he offered to buy shares at $54.20.
In his bid to Twitter on Wednesday, Musk told Board Chairman Bret Taylor: ‘I am offering to buy 100 percent of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54 percent premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38 percent premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.’
The figure includes the digits ‘420,’ a reference to marijuana, which Musk, 50, has joked about in the past, much to his detriment as it kicked off a lawsuit from the Security and Exchange Commissions following a 2018 tweet that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420, causing stock prices to soar.
Last week, the Tesla CEO and largest-single shareholder of Twitter, had also posted a photo of himself smoking weed during his interview with Joe Rogan in 2018, with the Tweet saying, ‘Twitter’s next board meeting is gonna be lit.’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid for Twitter appeared to include a weed joke as he offered to buy the company at $54.20 a share. Pictured, Musk spoking weed in 2018
Musk, the world’s richest man, has repeatedly made pot jokes, including one last week where he said Twitter’s next board meeting was ‘gonna be lit’
Musk summitted his $41 billion takeover bid to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor on Wednesday. Musk is currently the largest-single shareholder of the social media platform
Musk’s weed humor landed him a lawsuit from the SEC in 2018 after he tweeted that he would take Tesla private at $420, causing stocks to soar. The incident led to Musk being bound to a consent decree requiring Tesla attorney’s to vet all tweets about the company
The 2018 SEC lawsuit led Musk to be bound to a consent decree requiring Tesla attorney’s to vet all tweets about the company before they can be posted on social media.
Musk has insisted that the tweet was a joke meant to humor his then-girlfriend Grimes, who introduced him to marijuana.
In his letter on Wednesday, said, ‘My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.
‘Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.’
Musk added that his offer was not a ‘threat’, but ‘it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made.’
He continued: ‘And those changes won’t happen without taking the company private.’
Musk said that ‘if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,’ the regulatory filing showed.
Twitter confirmed on Thursday that it had received the offer, saying in a statement: ‘The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.’
Musk added that his offer was not a ‘threat’, but ‘it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made’ as he disagrees with the company’s ban policy
Shares of Twitter jumped nearly 12 percent before the market open. The stock is still down from its 52-week high of about $73
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called Musk’s offer a ‘historic move’ in a note, adding ‘ultimately we believe this soap opera will end with Musk owning Twitter after this aggressive hostile takeover of the company.’
Ives wrote that it was ‘get out the popcorn time’ and predicted ‘many twists and turns in the weeks ahead as Twitter and Musk walk down this marriage path.’
Musk has amassed over 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that landed him in hot water with regulators.
Musk has been a vocal critic of of Twitter in recent weeks, mostly over his belief that it falls short on free speech principles.
The social media platform has angered followers of Donald Trump and other far-right political figures who’ve had their accounts suspended for violating its content standards on violence, hate or harmful misinformation.
The second tweet about deleting ‘w’ saw Musk give two options without no as an answer, with 55.8 percent saying ‘yes’ and 44.2 percent ‘of course’ of 445,158 votes to-date
In the first post, Musk seemingly took aim at the company’s lax remote working policies, saying he came up with the plan ‘since no one shows up anyway.’ So far, 91.1 percent of 923,459 respondents voted in favor of the plan
Musk’s move comes after he tweeted on Saturday asking whether the social media network was ‘dying’ and to call out users such as singer Justin Bieber, who are highly followed but rarely post.
In other weekend tweets, Musk posted joke polls on whether to drop the ‘w’ from Twitter’s name and on converting its San Francisco headquarters to a homeless shelter ‘since no one shows up anyway.’
He also suggested removing ads, Twitter’s main source of revenue.
It comes Musk’s became Twitter’s largest shareholder with a 9.2 percent stake in the company.
After he disclosed his stake on March 14, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, 37, announced the Tesla co-founder had been invited to the join the company’s board of directors, a seat he gladly accepted.
By accepting the board seat, Musk was limited in how much of the company’s shares he could own, with a 14.9 percent cap.
However, on Sunday Parag announced the SpaceX CEO formally declined his board seat.
However, on Sunday Parag announced the SpaceX CEO formally declined his board seat
The document, filed with the SEC, stated Musk could ‘express his views’ about Twitter’s policies and services to the board or on social media. He could also purchase additional shares or sell Twitter stock, if he saw fit.
Agrawal said the board would still ‘remain open’ to Musk’s input, while also warning: ‘There will be distractions ahead but our goals and priorities remain unchanged.’
‘The board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board, and with Elon directly,’ wrote Agrawal. ‘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.’
Agrawal continued: ‘We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance.
Agrawal did not specify why Musk was not joining the company’s board.
But, he added: ‘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.’
Agrawal noted: ‘Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.’
‘The decisions we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else’s.
‘Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.’
