Twitter is reportedly hiring lawyers in order to force Musk to complete the transaction, but, regardless of how that plays out, there has been significant reputational damage to both the board of the social network and to Musk himself.
Here is a timeline of how the purchase was mooted, undertaken and, ultimately, fell apart. Though Musk had been a critic of Twitter for years, what is notable about the whole drama is how recently it all began.
August 7, 2018: Musk gets into trouble over Tesla tweets
Elon Musk tweets that he had the finances to take Tesla private at $420 a share. This decision will have wide-ranging implications, including an SEC lawsuit accusing Musk of defrauding investors and $20m in fines for both Tesla and Musk, who also gives up his role as Tesla chairman.
Most crucially, for this discussion, it also leads to Musk agreeing that a Tesla lawyer would be able to see in advance any tweets that the billionaire was planning about Tesla. As of June this year, Musk is still appealing those strictures.
April 5, 2022: Musk announces purchase of a 9.2% stake in Twitter
Late in March, Musk makes good on threats he’d made – ironically on the social platform itself – to purchase a 9.2% stake in Twitter. This makes him the largest shareholder in the platform. It follows months of criticisms of Twitter, ranging from simple statements about a lack of edit functionality to more wide-ranging criticisms of the platform’s approach to monetization and moderation.
Statements include: “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?”.
Critics immediately note that such swipes are likely rooted in Musk having been fined heavily for improper announcements on Twitter, as in 2018.
Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agwaral, says in a statement:
At the same time, Twitter extends an offer to Musk to join its board with the proviso that the billionaire not be able to purchase more than 14.9% of the company. This is seen as an attempt to prevent the unpredictable Musk from exerting an undue amount of influence at the company.
April 11: Musk declines seat on Twitter board
However, less than a week later Musk declined the opportunity, forcing Agwaral into an about-face in which he stated that the decision was “for the best”. Musk had told the board the same day that the appointment was to be made official, setting the tone for the chaos that would follow.
At the time social media consultant and industry analyst Matt Navarra said: “Right now, it’s incredibly hard to predict how much influence Elon Musk has – or will have – in the short and longer-term. He has declined to join the board, which leads many to suspect he is keeping his options open in regards to increasing the size of his shareholding in the future. This will be concerning for Twitter and anyone who sees Elon’s moves as a threat, rather than an opportunity.”
