What’s Going On Here?Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the social media giant earlier this week, whether you like it or not. What Does This Mean?We’ve all been where Elon’s been: bought a stake in one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, rejected an offer of a board seat, then offered to buy the company outright. So you must’ve felt for the guy when Twitter tried to scupper the move with a poison pill tactic, hoping to put him off by diluting his ownership and driving up the price of the deal.
Breathe easy: some of Twitter’s largest shareholders bombarded the company with calls urging it to accept, forcing the company to come to the negotiating table. So while your bids on major companies might’ve fallen through, Elon’s didn’t: Twitter agreed to sell to the world’s richest man for around $44 billion – 38% more than it was worth at the start of the month (tweet this). Why Should I Care?For markets: Rob Tesla, pay Paul.
Banks are prepared to lend Elon almost $26 billion to pay for the deal, but he’ll need to cover the rest himself. That leaves two options: find investors to buy the company with him, or – more likely – sell some of his stake in, say, Tesla. That might be why the EV maker’s stock has fallen 9% since he announced his takeover ambitions earlier this month.
The bigger picture: Leave Elon alone.
Elon’s been explicit about his intent: he wants Twitter to be a bastion of free speech, where everyone – disgruntled men, disgruntled presidents, and disgruntled billionaires alike – can finally tell the world what they really think after having been silent – on podcasts, on network television, and on the world stage – for far too long. But analysts have pointed out that Elon has used the platform to influence his personal business interests before, and they cynically argue that he could use his new position to do it again. Okay, snowflakes… | 
