Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink CEO Elon Musk shredded one of the Saudi owners of Twitter with two simple questions.
It came after Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alawaleed bin Talal said he would vote “no” on the proposal by Musk to purchase the company.
“I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects,” the Saudi prince said. “Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, [Kingdom Holding Company] & I reject this offer.”
I don't believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects.
Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer.https://t.co/Jty05oJUTk pic.twitter.com/XpNHUAL6UX
— الوليد بن طلال (@Alwaleed_Talal) April 14, 2022
“Interesting. Just two questions, if I may. How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly? What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?” Musk said.
Interesting. Just two questions, if I may.
How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?
What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Musk gave a simple response when asked about whether he has a “plan B” option for Twitter.
During a TED talk, host Chris Anderson asked Musk if there was a “Plan B” if his current offer to buy Twitter in an all-cash deal were rejected.
“There is,” Musk said.
“Well, I think we would want to err on — if in doubt, let the speech — let it exist. If it’s a gray area, I would say let the tweet exist. But obviously, in a case where there’s perhaps a lot of controversies that you would not want to necessarily promote that tweet, you know. So, I’m not — I’m not saying that I have all the answers here, but I do think that we want to be just very reluctant to delete things and have — just be very cautious with permanent bans. You know, timeouts, I think, are better than sort of permanent bans,” he continued.
“But just in general, like I said, it won’t be perfect, but I think we wanted to really have like the perception and reality that speech is as free and reasonably possible, and a good sign as to whether there is free speech is, is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like? And if that is the case, then we have free speech. And it’s damn annoying when someone you don’t like says something you don’t like. That is a sign of a healthy, functioning free speech situation,” he added.
WATCH:
Q: "If in this case you are not successful, you know, the board does not accept your offer, you've said you won't go higher. Is there a plan B?"
.@elonmusk: "There is." pic.twitter.com/ax2Kcb8GEi
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 14, 2022
On Wednesday, Musk announced that he had formally offered to buy Twitter outright.
Musk offered to buy the company for $54.20 a share, which he said was his “best and final offer,” representing a 54 percent premium over the day before he began investing in the company in late January. It would value the company at about $43 billion.
Musk said “I don’t have confidence in management” and that he couldn’t make the changes he wanted in the public market.
In a letter to Twitter, Musk said that he believes the company “will neither thrive nor serve [its free speech] societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” he said.
Musk has hired Morgan Stanley as an advisor to help with the takeover of the social media giant.
Days ago, it was speculated that his decision not to take the job means he is now free to improve his position within the company, as in, buy more stock.
Musk signed an agreement with Twitter for the following terms as long as he serves on the board: “Mr. Musk agrees that, for so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps or hedging transactions.”
But since Musk declined to join Twitter’s board, he is no longer bound by that stipulation, journalist Yashar Ali noted.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a statement released Sunday night that it was Musk’s decision to not join the company’s board after he was offered a seat.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
