Elon Musk: How the world's richest person bought Twitter

It was a chill evening successful precocious March successful San Jose.

A hastily organised gathering had been arranged astatine an Airbnb to big the world's richest person.

The gathering was a large 1 for Twitter. Elon Musk had precocious go Twitter's largest shareholder. Now determination was speech that helium wanted to articulation the company's board.

When Twitter's chairman, Bret Taylor, arrived astatine the venue it was not rather what helium was expecting.

This "wins for the weirdest spot I've had a gathering recently", helium reportedly texted Mr Musk.

"I deliberation they were looking for an Airbnb adjacent the airdrome and determination are tractors and donkeys," helium told him.

However, the gathering went swimmingly.

A fewer days aboriginal it was announced that Mr Musk was to articulation Twitter's board.

That was lone the beginning. The adjacent six months would witnesser 1 of the astir crazy, on-off deals successful Silicon Valley's history.

At the opening of April, Mr Musk seemed blessed with his committee presumption astatine Twitter, tweeting regularly astir however the institution mightiness change.

"Fixing Twitter by chatting with Parag won't work," helium is said to person texted Mr Taylor. "Drastic enactment is needed."

On 14 April, the billionaire publically stated that helium wanted to bargain Twitter - lock, banal and barrel.

He offered $44bn (£38bn) for Twitter successful a instrumentality it oregon permission it offer. Twitter's committee initially rejected the offer, adjacent creating a "poison pill" proviso to effort to forestall Mr Musk from forcibly buying the company.

Then different alteration of bosom (not the archetypal successful this story). Twitter's committee decided that, connected reflection, they would instrumentality the woody and connected 25 April, Twitter announced they had accepted the offer.

"Yesssss" Mr Musk tweeted.

Mr Musk argued that Twitter had mislaid its way. He said Twitter had excessively often restricted code and, arsenic the world's "town hall", it needed to spot escaped code supra each else.

He said helium did not attraction astir the "economics astatine all" successful an interrogation astatine the TED2022 league successful Vancouver, Canada.

That was lucky, due to the fact that the weeks and months aft the woody saw tech stocks fall. Twitter's worth besides waned. Soon, galore analysts began to question whether Mr Musk had overpaid for Twitter.

Publicly, helium began to inquire a antithetic question - however galore existent accounts were connected Twitter?

After having his connection accepted, helium repeatedly asked Twitter to supply information astir however galore existent users it had.

Twitter executives shared their fig that less than 5% of regular progressive users, based connected estimates from randomly sampled accounts, were bots. It appeared to enrage Mr Musk.

After a agelong Twitter thread from Mr Agrawal, explaining however the institution had reached that figure, Mr Musk responded with the poop emoji.

The woody was falling apart. Not wholly unexpectedly, connected 8 July, Mr Musk announced helium wanted to propulsion retired of the deal.

Was helium trying to get a amended terms for the institution oregon was helium genuinely walking away? It was hard to tell.

Twitter was not having immoderate of it. It argued that Mr Musk's statement to bargain the institution was legally binding and unpicking the woody present was not an option.

With precise costly lawyers connected some sides, a tribunal day was acceptable successful Delaware for 17 October to determine whether Mr Musk would beryllium forced to bargain the company.

In tribunal documents, Twitter argued it had fixed him ample accusation astir however galore existent users it had.

Mr Musk argued Twitter could person galore times arsenic galore bots than it had publically claimed, and adjacent accused the institution of fraud.

The drip, drip of nationalist disapproval was hurting Twitter. The immense bulk of Twitter's gross comes from adverts and advertisers were opening to wonderment however galore ads were being shown to existent people.

The process was becoming immensely distracting successful Twitter HQ too. Some employees relished the thought of Mr Musk becoming their CEO. Many privately - and immoderate publically - said his acquisition would beryllium a catastrophe for contented moderation and the broader goals of the company.

Mr Musk, Twitter, the justice and journalists, were each preparing for what seemed similar an inevitable tribunal lawsuit erstwhile different singular twist occurred.

From nowhere, aft making each sorts of allegations against Twitter, Mr Musk abruptly announced the woody was backmost on.

"Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," helium said.

What had changed his mind? Well possibly helium thought helium would suffer his tribunal case. A fewer days earlier helium announced his reversal, helium was owed to look a deposition by Twitter lawyers. Perhaps helium wanted to debar what would person been a gruelling and apt revealing cross-examination.

Whatever the reason, you tin spot wherefore Twitter did not popular the champagne corks. Once bitten, doubly shy, Twitter reacted, mutedly. Mr Taylor tweeted that the institution was "committed to closing the transaction connected the terms and presumption agreed upon with Mr Musk".

Twitter besides asked for the tribunal lawsuit to beryllium postponed, not cancelled. Mr Musk's lawyers retorted that Twitter "won't instrumentality yes for an answer".

Mr Musk had until 17:00 BST connected 28 October to travel up with the money.

Billions would beryllium stumped up by his affluent friends and banks. The remainder of it, from Mr Musk, by selling immoderate of his shares successful Tesla.

A woody which astatine times looked intractably, impossibly broken, present appears to person yet been concluded.