Elon Musk reveals the reasoning behind the resumption of Twitter trading

After confirming that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had made an original $44 billion offer to buy Twitter, the tech mogul revealed the reason for his sudden U-turn.

In his first public remarks since the re-offer, the 51-year-old billionaire said on Twitter that the acquisition of Twitter was an “accelerator to create X, the app for everything.”

Musk further said that buying the Weibo platform brought his Project X forward by three to five years.

The inspiration for creating the super app came from Musk’s admiration for other similar apps that offer more services, such as China’s WeChat and TikTok.

He wants to make X a super app that will combine messaging, social media, payments — and not rely on ad revenue, similar to WeChat.

While the Tesla CEO didn’t further explain what the “X” was and what services it would provide, there were strong indications that he would pit his project against rivals like WeChat and TikTok.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the billionaire is preparing to close the deal at the original price of $54.20 a share.

The report was confirmed after a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday was revealed.

In addition, Musk’s lawyers sent a letter to Twitter on Tuesday expressing their willingness to honor the original agreement.

Also read | Twitter confirms Elon Musk takeover bid, says it will close at original price

Twitter lawyers are reviewing the letter, but reports suggest the deal is likely to have been accepted.

According to The Verge, a Twitter spokesperson said: “We have received communications from Musk to the SEC from various sources.”

Also read | As It Happened – Twitter Confirms Musk’s Takeover Offer

“Company’s intent is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share”

Trading in Twitter shares was halted earlier on Tuesday amid reports of a surge in shares after trading resumed. The stock was up nearly 13% at $47.93 before trading was suspended.

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