Taking over. Elon Musk reached a deal to buy Twitter for about $44 billion on Monday, April 25.

The public company will be purchased for $54.20 per share in cash, and the company will then be privately held by the Tesla CEO, who is the world’s richest man at age 50.

“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,” Musk said in a press release announcing his purchase on Monday.

He went on to note that he intends to make some big changes. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” he explained. “Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, added in a statement, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

Musk bought nine percent of Twitter shares earlier this month and was offered a spot on the board of directors after becoming the company’s largest stakeholder. The SpaceX CEO initially accepted the spot, which was contingent on a background check, on the 11-person board on April 5. However, four days later, he turned down the spot on April 9. No reason was given for his rejection.

The position, which was to have had a term ending in 2024, would have required Musk to agree not to own more than 14.9 percent of Twitter’s stock or take over the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, The New York Times reports.

The soon-to-be Twitter owner is also a dad. He shares twin sons Xavier and Griffin, both 18, as well as triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian, who are 16, with ex-wife Justine Wilson. The pair were married from 2000 to 2008, and Musk moved on with Talulah Riley and Amber Heard before romancing Grimes. He and the musician, 34, went public with their relationship in 2018 and share son X AE A X-II, 23 months and daughter Exa Dark Slideræl, 4 months.

Grimes and Musk split in September 2021, three months before she gave birth to their daughter, but the pair have since reunited. “I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we’re very fluid,” Grimes told Vanity Fair in March 2022 of her relationship status with the tech investor. “We live in separate houses. We’re best friends. We see each other all the time. … We just have our own thing going on, and I don’t expect other people to understand.”

The “Oblivion” singer tweeted that the interview was already outdated on March 10. “Me and E have broken up *again* since the writing of this article haha, but he’s my best friend and the love of my life,” she wrote.

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