Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is showing active interest in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) again, but this time he wants to buy the whole company.
What Happened: Musk on Thursday announced an offer to buy Twitter.
According to a 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk made a proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of the social media company for $54.20 per share, which has caused some to question the seriousness of the offer, given his use of "420," a reference to an unofficial cannabis holiday.
Does Musk Really Want To Buy Twitter? Lightshed Partners co-founder Rich Greenfield is among the skeptics.
"Elon is not the most predictable human," Greenfield said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"Part of this is, is he even serious, like is this a game? Is he simply having fun and sort of just making a point about free speech and sort of trying to hold management's feet to the fire? Or does he actually want to own and control Twitter and run it?"
More importantly, does Musk even know what he wants? Greenfield noted that based on Musk's recent activity on Twitter, his actual intentions are rather unclear. Recent activity includes a poll suggesting the company's headquarters be converted to a homeless shelter, an ask about whether or not Twitter is "dying," and a proposal to remove the "w" from "Twitter."
"It's hard to take the individual seriously when you're doing things like that, let alone offering to buy the company at $54.20," Greenfield said.
Although Greenfield notes Musk can pull his offer at any point, if Musk is serious, the offer is fully financed and he has a plan, he said. He suggested Musk may even be willing to go higher depending on how serious he is about taking the company private and implementing the changes he wants to see in the platform.
Earlier this week, Accelerate CEO Julian Klymochko suggested Musk may go as high as $69.420, to incorporate two popular meme numbers into the offer.
Related Link: Analysis: The Twitter Board Rule That Could Explain Why Elon Musk Isn't Joining
So is Musk serious and would he consider paying more than $54.20?
"Who's financing this bid with someone who wants to remove the only revenue stream Twitter has, which is advertising," Greenfield said. "It's very hard to understand what he's actually after and again, that's what makes me go back to: maybe this is all a joke."
TWTR Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Twitter was up 10.6% at $50.71 at time of publication.
Photo: Just Click's from Flickr.
