Elon Musk could use Twitter against itself

Bright and early on Monday, Elon Musk sent the US government a surprising new document.

In it, the worlds wealthiest man laid out his possible intentions toward Twitter, in which he has amassed a 9.2 percent stake, underlining how drastically his position had changed from a week ago.

Mr. Musk could, if he chose, buy more shares of Twitter and increase his ownership of the company, according to the document, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

He could freely express his views about Twitter on social media or other channels, the document noted. And he reserved the right to change his plans at any time, as he deems appropriate.

It was a promise or perhaps it was a threat. Either way, the filing encapsulated the treacherous situation that Twitter now finds itself in. Mr. Musk, 50, Twitters largest shareholder and one of its highest-profile users, could very well use the social media platform against itself and even buy enough shares to take over the company.

Twitter has always suffered more than its fair share of dysfunction, said Jason Goldman, who was on Twitters founding team and served on its board of directors in the past. But at least we werent being actively trolled by prospective board members using the product we created.

The filing followed a week of high-stakes drama between the billionaire and the company. Last Monday, Twitter revealed that Mr. Musk had accumulated stock, now worth more than $3 billion, in the company. 

A day later, he was invited onto Twitters 11-person board and agreed to not own more than 14.9 percent of the company or take it over. Then on Sunday, Twitter abruptly said all of those bets were off and that Mr. Musk would not become a director.