Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, who thinks tunnels are immune to natural disasters, is purchasing Twitter. The company confirmed on Monday afternoon that it had accepted the billionaire’s offer. “Twitter, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion,” reads the official press release. “Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.”
The improbable, terrifying news comes after multiple outlets reported the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX managed to shore up backing from the likes of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Barclays for the buyout. After a weeks-long rollercoaster ride filled with poison pill threats, antitrust violation worries, terrifying surveillance capitalism implications, and godawful tweets, it appears the tracks have ended squarely within a raging dumpster fire. It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this could be within the larger internet and social media landscapes — once completed, Elon Musk will arguably have more power over his platform than the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, or even former Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey.
