Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s largest shareholder.

 Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s largest shareholder. ?

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has purchased a 9% interest in Twitter, making him the social media platform's largest stakeholder, following doubts over the platform's commitment to free expression.

The eventual goal of Musk's 73.5 million share buy, valued at $2.9 billion at Friday's closing price, remains unclear. However, Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers and frequently tweets, has recently questioned Twitter's free speech and if the network is hurting democracy.

Musk is described in the regulatory filing as a long-term investor who wants to keep his stock purchases and sales to a minimum.

He's also considered creating his own social media network, and industry watchers are sceptical that the erratic CEO will stay out of it for long.

"We would anticipate this passive stake to be the beginning of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that might eventually lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role for Twitter," Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives said in a client note early Monday.

Musk told his more than 80 million Twitter followers that he was " seriously considering" developing his own social media site, and he has had numerous run-ins with financial authorities over his Twitter use.

Musk's purchase of Twitter stock comes as he is embroiled in a contentious legal battle with US securities regulators over his ability to post on the social media platform. Musk's lawyer has argued in court that the Securities and Exchange Commission is encroaching on Musk's First Amendment rights.

 tweeted about having the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share in October 2018, Musk and Tesla agreed to pay $40 million in civil fines and have Musk's tweets vetted by a corporate counsel.

Tesla's stock price rose despite the fact that the cash was far from certain and the electric vehicle firm remained publicly traded. The agreement stipulated governance improvements, including Musk's removal as board chairman and the approval of his tweets in advance. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a securities fraud charge against Musk, alleging that his tweets were used to manipulate the stock price.

Musk's lawyer is now seeking a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss the settlement, claiming that the SEC is harassing him and intruding on his First Amendment rights.

Musk requested Judge Alison Nathan in early March to overturn an SEC subpoena and the settlement agreement. The SEC has used the court agreement "to stomp on Mr. Musk's First Amendment rights and to put prior limits on his speech," according to his lawyer, Alex Spiro.

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