Why does Elon Musk really want to buy Twitter? Is it vanity, political activism, or a shrewd financial move? Musk’s reputation lies in building companies from scratch, yet Twitter is a mature business. It is hard to see why that should excite him anything like transforming the car industry or creating a market for space tourism.
Twitter is currently a business without any obvious prospects for substantial growth. The company, which was formed in 2006 and floated in 2013, has never set the world alight like other businesses in the tech sector. Even after Musk’s $44 billion (£34 billion) offer, the share price is only modestly higher than it was at the company’s flotation nearly nine years ago. It closed on its first day of trading at $45 (£35) a share, compared with Musk’s offer of $54.2 (£43) per share.
Unlike Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta – which have their fingers in many pies – Twitter really is just a social media platform
The number of Twitter users has crept up since its flotation, just about doubling in the past five years, but has not grown explosively for years.
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