>> Being the wealthiest man in the world, isn't quite enough for him, well Musk,
he attempted a hostile takeover of Twitter, and
today it got shut down by the social media app.
Now before we dive into what occurred today, let's go ahead and
get some context in order.
So earlier this month, Musk announce that through stock, he had acquired
9.2% of Twitter, which essentially made him the largest shareholder.
Well, the South African billionaire, was offered a board seat and
returned for not increasing his stake in the company above 14.9%, for
at least two years with his board membership.
And Elon Musk, while it was pending, he had a lot to say per vice news last
weekend, Musk issued a series of tweets which he subsequently deleted,
criticizing the company and its executives.
As well as asking his 81.6 million followers,
what they thought about possible changes to the way Twitter works.
Including a proposal,
to convert the company's San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter.
Since no one shows up anywhere he says, and another, he asked followers if
the company should get rid of the W from its name, 57% of those who voted agreed.
Yeah, Musk really special and very mature, and ultimately,
Musk really turned down the board membership,
instead expressing his preference to dunk on the company through the app.
And he also gave us big takeover vibes, in the meantime, the billionaire said,
as I indicated this week.
And I believe that the company should be private to go through the changes that
need to be made.
After the past several days of thinking this over,
I have decided I want to acquire the company and take it private, and
it was not very long before Musk put his plan into action.
And what he did is must file an offer letter, with the securities and
exchange commission, offering to buy 100% of the Twitter for $54.20 per share,
in an all cash deal worth 43 billion.
Musk add that his offer is a high price, and your shareholders will love it.
The 54.20 is an 18% premium over the closing price of Twitter
shares on Wednesday evening.
As Musk pointed out in his filing, Twitter share price has risen 38% in the weeks,
since his investment was made public.
All right, now there's been a lot of side eye people on certain what Musk is up to?
Whether this is pump and dump market manipulation, and it's really disputed,
but it's really clear here, definitely that Twitter is not here for Musk.
It responded to, let's just say the US online oligarchs demand with this, Twitter
adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, often called a poison pill.
A day after the billionaire Elon Musk offer to buy the company, for 43 billion,
the board voted unanimously to adopt the plan.
Under the new structure, if any person or group requires beneficial ownership of at
least 15% of Twitter's outstanding common stock without the board's approval.
Other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at
a discount basically diluting,
that shareholder's stake of the entity that he is eyeing the takeover.
So, I guess with this response by Twitter, and it being such a big form for
people to use their voices, particularly in the journalistic arena,
Ben, what do you think of Twitter's response?
>> I mean, it's a pretty gangster move right back on top of Musk trying
to control the narrative there.
Also, it's amazing how much Musk can say, on an app with a limit of 280
characters he seems, I think he gets more, I think he gets more in there per Tweet.
Pretty amazing, what an emotional roller coaster has put us
through in this last couple of weeks, he buys 9% of the company.
He gets offered a board seat, he turns down the board seat,
he tries a hostile takeover.
He trash talks the executives, he gets them to adopt a new rule,
they make it impossible for him to do the takeover.
I think it would have been pretty amazing,
if indeed he was just doing this to bump up the stock price.
If, they let him just buy it, just let him take it over and be stuck with it,
he only problem is that Trump would probably be reinstated instantly,
that's the only major negative, I could see.
>> The funny thing about it, when I was watching this all unfold online,
I thought it was crazy that Elon Musk, could just have $3
billion to troll people with, right, that's insane right?
But immediately I thought of stuff like and others pump and
dump schemes that he's done, via the app in the very recent past.
And then when I saw 43 billion, or yeah, 43 billion, which is what he offered,
I was like, okay, this is the obvious sign that this is a joke.
Elon Musk doesn't have $43 billion, just laying around,
I know his company is worth 270 billion, but
that doesn't mean that he has that level of money to just throw around on a whim.
He would have to go out and maybe borrow that money or maybe raise it from rich
friends of his, which is just like nobody believed this was anything serious, right?
He's good at electric cars, he's good at sending trillionaires to mars,
and nothing else, this idea that he could come in and take over social media
company is ridiculous, this isn't his area of expertise.
And the funny thing is, the way that we think about the money and
the wealth of these oligarchs, people can't even fathom.
The difference by degrees between 3 billion and 43 billion,
that's a major difference, that's an insane amount of
money that even Elon Musk can't put together on a whim.
I think this guy's bored, he's extremely rich, he has nothing better to do, and
so he decided to pick a fight with his favorite social media company.
>> But sending billionaires and the ultra wealthy to mars,
is not a bad strategy, I think it's got some legs behind it, and
I think- >> If you leave them there, but otherwise
it's just a waste of my time, but now I do appreciate that I agree with you, Ben.
But I can also tell you that there are people out there who really thought that,
you know what?
There's no chance he's actually gonna do this, Musk is just trying to manipulate
the market, and that seemed to be the tone that Mark Cuban was giving off.
He thought that Musk really just wanted to artificially inflate Twitter stock,
the Mavericks owner tweeted this.
My conclusion Elon Musk is effing with SEC, his filing with the SEC allows
him to say what he wants to accompany private for $54.20 vs his.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420 funding secured,
price go up, his shares get sold, profit goes up SEC like WTF just happened.
Yeah, these billionaire boys got a lot to talk about,
and I do think they definitely have too much money on their hands, but
just in case you don't really follow what Mark Cuban was talking about.
So media, had this insight, in 2018, Musk tweeted he had secured funding for
a go private bid for Tesla at $420 per share,
in the middle of the trading day no less causing the stock price to spike 11%.
But it turned out the funding wasn't secured, and
Musk had not filed the requisite paperwork with the SEC.
Elon Musk could also really just be trying to distract people from the news,
that on Wednesday a federal judge rejected Tesla's claim.
That it's not liable for disturbing racist abuse suffered by ex factory workers,
US district Judge William Orrick rejected what he called Tesla's watered down
revisionism, that cast the plaintiff.
Om Diaz is suffering as mild and short lived, and there's a lot of potentially
on the line when it comes to these lawsuits going against Tesla.
So I don't know necessarily, if Elon Musk just had too much time on his hands.
But I really don't know what's gonna happen next, what do you think Ben?
>> Well, first of all that certainly is, quite a noble move of Tesla to decide for
the injured employee, who has suffered emotional trauma and
stress, that his own trauma was mild and short lived.
I always like it when the oppressor tells you how mild your trauma is,
I feel like that's a real nice move.
And Elon Musk, I think he just proves over and over again,
that he has more fun just playing with the world, using us all as his pawns and
he does about being a serious person.
Even look at the fact, look, I'm somebody who enjoys marijuana, but if I was trying
to take over in a hostile takeover, one of the biggest company in the world.
I wouldn't put 420 in the amount that I'm trying to buy it for, and
the same thing he did for his Tesla for both with 420 in it.
That's not an accident happens once, fine happens twice, this is a stoner, having
fun with us and laughing in his tiny home made of gold bars, it's got to stop.
>> God, I didn't even see that for 420, you are just.
>> [CROSSTALK] >> Both of them
>> [CROSSTALK].
>> I don't think that's an accident I'm with Ben here,
I think what's most important for the folks at home to understand is,
the day after he does this fraudulent SEC filing.
The Twitter closed at 54 bucks had opened at 54 bucks,
the actual market everybody on wall street is like this guy is joking, he's bluffing.
This isn't real, once you see that nobody's moving on it,
it just tells you that everybody sees the fraudulence in this entire play.