Elon Musk Twitter deal - live: Stock market goes wild as Tesla CEO’s $44bn buyout is accepted

“Twitter issued this statement about today’s news: We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share,” the company’s investor relations account stated on Twitter.

Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, has slammed the seemingly imminent takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk.

“From the outset, Elon Musk’s desire to take over Twitter was about advancing his own red-pilled ideological agenda. He was explicit about his intentions, which is why right-wing extremists celebrated the news.

“This isn’t alarmism, this is fact. Musk made it clear that he would roll back Twitters’ community standards and safety guidelines, reinstate Donald Trump along with scores of other accounts suspended for violence and abuse, and open the floodgates of disinformation. In effect, Musk will turn Twitter into a fever swamp of dangerous conspiracy theories, partisan chicanery, and operationalized harassment.

“Twitter’s advertisers and media buyers already rejected this. Rightfully so. The sale of Twitter is the end of the company as we know it, and the beginning of a more toxic platform with incredible potential for real-world harm.

“All these warnings could actually end up being understated depending on how Musk is financing this most recent offer. That’s the single most important question in determining if this will be really bad or even worse.”

The share price of Digital World Acquisition Corp, the company set to take Trump Media and Technology Group public fell by more than 5 per cent after Elon Musk decided to go through with his Twitter purchase.

The stock peaked in March at around $97, and closed on Tuesday at $17.10.

Mr Trump’s company owns Truth Social, the social media platform he set up after being banned by Twitter and Facebook in the wake of the violent January 6 insurrection.

Mr Musk has said that if and when he takes over Twitter he wants the one-term president’s ban lifted.

Here is the SEC filing made by Elon Musk indicating he intends to complete a $44bn purchase of Twitter at $55.420 per share.

“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 statement in the press release announcing the $44 billion deal in April.

“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.

“Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

“His lawyers knew that. Twitter’s lawyers knew that. His only hope was for Twitter to cave, and they didn’t.”

Such pauses, instituted after the 2010 “Flash Crash,” kick in when stocks on major indices change price by more than 5 per cent within five minutes.

Twitter shares rose at least 13 per cent at various points on Tuesday, after Mr Musk announced he would return to his original $44bn offer to purchase the social media site.

Twitter sued Elon Musk in July, arguing the tech billionaire was legally bound to carry out his $44bn acquisition of the social network, after the Tesla CEO said he wanted to walk away from the deal.

Twitter argued leaving the deal is “invalid and wrongful” under the terms of an April contract, according to a letter sent to Mr Musk’s lawyers.

The company tore into Mr Musk in a legal complaint filed in Delaware Court, writing that the billionaire “apparently believes that he —unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law — is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.”

Here’s more information.

Elon Musk wants to go ahead with his original offer of $44bn (£38bn) to buy Twitter and take it private, months after trying to back out of the deal.

The billionaire made the offer of $54.20 a share in a letter to Twitter, according to sources who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

An agreement would put the world’s richest person in charge of one of the most influential media platforms and end months of turbulent litigation that damaged Twitter’s brand and fed Musk’s reputation for erratic behaviour. Trading on Twitter’s shares was paused after the news.

Adam Smith is following the story.

Elon Musk will pay the original $44bn price for Twitter despite his complaints about bots on the platform

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of Elon Musk’s $44bn bid to buy Twitter.

The deal has the potential to impact US politics and culture for years to come, and we’ll have all the latest details. Stay tuned.