Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s largest shareholder

Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc. to become the platform’s biggest shareholder, a week after hinting he might shake up the social media industry.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Tesla founder purchased 73,486,938 Twitter shares on March 14th. Based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday, the stake is worth $2.89 billion (£2.20 billion). Around KES 332,610,100,000 as at today’s exchange rate.

On 26 March 2022, billionaire Elon Musk sent out a tweet asking whether a new platform was needed following Twitter’s failure to adhere to free speech principles which according to him, fundamentally undermines democracy.

A day earlier, he had sent out a tweet poll on the same issue and warned the consequences of the results.

He now owns more than four times Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s 2.25 percent stake, making him one of the company’s top shareholders.

Musk is one of the most well-known Twitter users, commanding a following of over 80 million, and he has a history of getting into controversy on the platform.

The announcement will be another key test for new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over from Jack Dorsey after his abrupt resignation in November. Agrawal promised to improve product execution, boost accountability, and make speedier decisions. By the end of 2023, the company established aggressive growth goals, including growing annual revenue to $7.5 billion and reaching 315 million daily users.