When Elon Musk recently announced that he had purchased Twitter, many were left wondering why. Some suggested that Elon was interested in using Twitter to promote his other projects and businesses, while others speculated that Elon saw great potential in the platform itself. Whatever the case, it is clear that Elon Musk has big plans for Twitter – plans that are sure to shake up the social media landscape and transform the way we use this powerful communication tool.

Whether it is through introducing new features and updates or expanding its network and user base, Elon Musk is certain to bring his trademark innovation and disruption to Twitter. And that can only be a good thing for the platform, its users, and the future of social media. But what exactly should we know about this purchase that’s caused media coverage wildfire? To really break it down, let’s start from the beginning.

2009: Elon Musk Makes A Twitter Account

Elon Musk joined Twitter in 2009 and has since amassed over 33 million followers. While he doesn’t tweet as often as some of the other social media moguls, his tweets usually pack a punch – whether it’s announcing a new product or sharing his latest thoughts on the future of technology.

In the early days of Twitter, Elon was fairly active, tweeting several times a day about everything from SpaceX to electric cars. These days, his tweets are more spaced out but no less impactful.

2018: Elon Makes A $40M Mistake

In 2018, Elon made a major mistake when he tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. The SEC investigated the tweet and found that it misled investors, resulting in a $40 million fine for Elon.

While this incident caused some to lose faith in Elon and his validity as the CEO of a major corporation, it certainly faired entertaining for the web-dwellers and meme creators. Monitoring Musk’s Tweets quickly became the latest “viralist’s” secret sauce to creating a slam dunk meme.

2022 | March 26: Musk Calls Twitter Out

In a now-deleted tweet from 2020, Musk called out Twitter, saying “Twitter sucks.” This was in response to a string of tweets from @neiltyson that seemed to be critical of Tesla. This, however, now serves as a prelude to Musk’s more recent criticisms that have led to his purchasing of the platform.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🌹 Twitter sucks</p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1286697906536361987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Musk took to his Twitter to ask his followers what “should be done,” with regards to the social industry Titan’s “principles” around “free speech.

“It’s time for twitter to address its trolls,” says Musk. “I think they are on the wrong side of history.”

“The way I see it, there are two types of twitter,” Musk says. “There’s one twitter for professionals and another for trolls.”

“The professionals should be able to rate tweets so that the public can see which tweets are trustworthy and which ones are not,” he continues.

He suggested that people should be able to rate the validity of tweets, similar to how apps are rated on the App Store.

2022 | March 27: A New Idea Emerges

Just under 24 hours after sharing his opinions of Twitter, Musk threw a new option in into the ring. In a Tweet expressing his “serious thought” about launch his own social media platform, Musk foreshadowed his next business move.

2022 | April 4th: Elon Becomes Largest Stakeholder In Twitter

After a hiatus from shaking things up on the internet, Music returned to the platform with style…and 9.2% of the platform itself.

This served as the perfect ramp-up to his monumental purchase of the platform, that would come just a few weeks later.

2022 | April 25th: Elon Musk Buys Twitter

And just like that, it’s official – Elon Musk has bought Twitter. In a tweet, he announced that he had purchased the social social media platform for an undisclosed sum. This news sent shockwaves across the internet, especially when it was later disclosed that the world’s favorite blue bird sold at an impressive $44M price tag.

While the future of Musk’s Twitter is unsure, what’s clear is that there will seldom be a dull moment.