Jack Dorsey breaks silence on Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter

Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey has finally opened up on Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter for $43 billion. Last week, the Tesla CEO proposed an offer to buy the microblogging site for $54.20 per share in cash. The board of directors has issued a new “shareholder rights plan” to block Musk’s offer, which comes as a major setback to the billionaire’s efforts to take full control of Twitter.

Dorsey stepped down as Twitter CEO last year, handing over responsibilities to Parag Agrawal. Responding to a Twitter user over the weekend, Dorsey said referred to the board as “consistently the dysfunction of the company”. He remains a board member till next month with his 2.2 per cent share.

Dorsey also agreed with venture capitalist Gary Tan that a badly run board “can literally make a billion dollars in value disappear”. When another Twitter user asked him if he was allowed to speak publicly on the matter, he clearly said “No”.

Musk recently said, “with Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares!” “Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders,” he also said.

Last week, Musk proposed an offer to buy 100 per cent stake in Twitter for 43 billion, which is $54.20 per share. And all of it in cash. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk said, “My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.” He also said that the microblogging site has “extraordinary potential”, which he wants to unlock. Twitter’s board of directors later issued a new “shareholder rights plan” to block Musk’s offer.

Speaking at the TED 2022 conference in Vancouver last week, the Tesla CEO said he has plan B if Twitter doesn’t accept his offer. He hasn’t revealed details of his next move yet.