Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, the company's current largest shareholder, has proposed purchasing the remaining shares of Twitter that he does not already own for $54.20 per share, a bid worth more than $43 billion.
Musk called that price his best and final offer, but he didn't elaborate on financing. The offer is non-binding and is subject to financing and other terms.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in the filing. “However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
Twitter stated that it has received Musk's offer and will consider whether accepting it or continuing to operate as a publicly traded company is in the best interests of its shareholders.
Musk's buyout offer is just the most recent development in his relationship with Twitter.
In recent regulatory filings, the billionaire revealed that he began buying shares in almost daily batches on January 31.
Only Vanguard Group's mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) own more Twitter shares.
According to a filing, Twitter quickly gave Musk a seat on its board on the condition that he not own more than 14.9 percent of the company's outstanding stock. However, Musk backed out of the deal.
Musk's 81 million Twitter followers place him among the most popular figures on the platform, competing with pop stars such as Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. However, his prolific tweeting has occasionally landed him in trouble with the SEC and others.
Musk has described himself as a free speech advocate and has stated that he does not believe Twitter is upholding free speech principles, an opinion shared by followers of Donald Trump and a number of other right-wing political figures whose accounts have been suspended for violating Twitter content rules.