When Elon Musk expressed his love for Twitter in 2017 and asked 'how much is it?'
Musk has said that he wanted to own and privatise the social media giant because he believes it is not living up to its potential as a free speech platform.
FollowTesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly around 44 billion dollars, sparking massive interest among users of the micro-blogging site. However, one particular tweet has caught people's attention, i.e. a 2017 tweet reply from Musk, which now gives a glimpse of the billionaire's keen interest in investing in the social media platform.
Also read:Â Amazon, Congress party, Man United... Twitter users ask Elon Musk to buy these and more
On December 21, 2017, Business Insider front-page editor Dave Smith suggested that Musk buy Twitter in response to the billionaire saying that he loved the micro-blogging platform.
That prompted the Tesla CEO to ask: "How much is it?"
Before Twitter confirmed its deal with Musk, Smith revisited his exchange with him. "This exchange continues to haunt me," he tweeted, sharing a screenshot of the conversation.
Musk has said that he wanted to own and privatise the social media giant because he believes it is not living up to its potential as a free speech platform.
The Tesla CEO said in a joint statement with Twitter that he wants to make the service "better than ever" with new features while getting rid of automated "spam″ accounts and making its algorithms open to the public to increase trust.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," the 50-year-old Musk said, adding hearts, stars and rocket emojis in a tweet that highlighted the statement.
Reports suggest the Musk-Twitter deal was cemented two weeks after the billionaire first revealed a 9 per cent stake in the platform. The Tesla CEO said last week that he had lined up 46.5 billion dollars in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company's board to negotiate a deal.
Twitter said the transaction was unanimously approved by its board of directors and is expected to close in 2022, pending regulatory sign-off and the approval of shareholders.
Also read:Â Takeover Timeline: How Elon Musk won Twitter in just 31 days
