Dan Ives, chief executive of US-based investment firm Wedbush Securities, told CTV National News’s Washington bureau correspondent Richard Madan that Musk was laying the groundwork for a more “activist role” on Twitter.
“It was no secret,” Ives said in a recent interview. “Social media is not happy in terms of the Twitter platform.”
“If there was time for a strike, it was and I believe Musk will eventually make some major changes to Twitter in the coming months.”
On March 24, Musk bought a 9.2 percent stake in the social networking platform, according to deposits with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The market is valued at $ 3 billion of Twitter’s closing price and makes him one of the company’s largest shareholders.
The news of Musk’s purchase sent Twitter shares soaring.
Musk accused Twitter of stifling free speech on the platform.
“As Twitter operates as the city’s de facto public square, non-compliance with the principles of freedom of speech is fundamentally undermining democracy. What needs to be done? ” Musk wondered in a tweet on March 26.
Musk considered launching his own social networking platform to compete with Twitter, which was started by his friend Jack Dorsey, who resigned as Twitter CEO last year.
Ives believes Musk will buy more Twitter shares to force changes at the executive level, which could set the stage for a hostile takeover.
“This is just the first step in what is going to be a wider Game of Thrones to play in relation to Twitter … and Musk,” Ives said.
SEE THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN THE FOLLOWING CLIP
As Twitter operates as the city’s de facto public square, failure to uphold the principles of freedom of speech fundamentally undermines democracy.
What needs to be done? – Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
