Elon Musk Tries To Buy Twitter: What’s Actually Happening

Reading between the headlines to get the real story on Elon’s Twitter bid

On Thursday, Elon Musk announced an offer to buy Twitter. He proposed buying the company’s shares at $54.20 each, a $9 per-share premium, presenting its board with a tough decision.

Musk is a brilliant businessman. He founded one company that sends rockets to space and another that popularized electric vehicles. But selling Twitter to him isn’t as simple as turning it over to a master builder. Let’s take a deeper look:

1. This may be a farce

Musk admitted in his SEC filing Thursday morning that he hasn’t yet completed the financing to buy Twitter. He reaffirmed that on the TED stage later in the day. Musk in the past said he had funding to take Tesla private and ultimately didn’t follow through. He may be toying with Twitter, angry that his first attempt to influence it via a board seat didn’t work out.

2. The most likely outcome is Musk sells his shares