Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has bought the social media platform Twitter for $44bn (€41 bn) and pledged to use it to promote free speech globally.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Mr Musk said in a statement.
"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
“Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies. Picture by: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alamy Live NewsPreviously, the board of Twitter had rebuffed Mr Musk’s efforts to acquire the company but today Bret Taylor, the organisation’s independent board chair, was enthusiastic about the new boss:
"The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon's proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” he said.
“The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders."
Twitter’s shares will now be delisted and it will become a private company.
Mr Musk made his fortune from running the electric vehicle company Tesla and is worth an estimated $273.6bn.
Main image: A photo illustration show the official profile of Elon Musk on the social network Twitter in April 2022. Picture by: SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo
