The Tesla boss could lose focus on the electric car revolution if he gets sucked into disputes over social media and free speech
The hearts of Tesla shareholders must sink every time Elon Musk takes on another pet project. At least this one is with his own money, which wasn’t the case when the carmaker spent $1.5bn on bitcoins last year, but a 9.2% stake in Twitter has potential to become a serious distraction from the day job.
The near $3bn (£2.3bn) purchase has been structured as a passive investment, yet one doubts Musk intends to buy and hold for eternity. That’s not his style. Possible plot lines include a request for a seat on the board or even a full takeover bid in time, speculated analysts, not unreasonably. He can afford the latter.
