Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter, making him its largest shareholder.
Mr Musk owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, which represents a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)13G filing released on Monday.
The stake is worth $2.89 billion, based on Twitter’s closing price Friday.
The announcement raised Twitter’s shares by more than 25 per cent in Monday’s premarket trading.
This development comes less than two weeks after Musk questioned Twitter’s adherence to free speech principles.
Musk had in March tweeted that he was giving “serious thought” about creating a new social media platform.
“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
“Is a new platform needed?” he tweeted.
Musk is the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $273 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.