Twitter’s stock soared in pre-market trading on Monday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed a more than 9 percent stake in the social media giant, making him one of its largest shareholders.
As of 7:25 a.m. ET, Twitter shares were up more than 24 percent at $48.81.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Musk detailed holding nearly 73.5 million shares of Twitter, disclosing that this amounted to a stake of approximately 9.2 percent. CNBC noted that this makes him the largest outside shareholder of the company. His stake was worth around $2.89 billion, based on the firm’s Friday closing price.
The outspoken entrepreneur didn’t immediately share a reason for his investment.
However, Musk has in the past often used Twitter, where he has more than 80 million followers, to comment on various issues, including stocks and even Twitter itself. As of late, he has posted surveys asking respondents about Twitter’s commitment to free speech and even suggested he was considering starting a rival social media firm of his own.
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