Chapter 144

In April 2022, as Musk's companies reach historic peaks—Tesla valued at $1 trillion, SpaceX launching record payloads—his restless nature drives him to seek a new challenge. After accumulating $10 billion in cash and growing frustrated with what he sees as censorship on Twitter, he quietly begins buying shares, joins the company's board, and starts brainstorming transformative ideas for the platform, setting the stage for an acquisition that concerns those close to him.

By April 2022, Musk's enterprises are thriving: Tesla's stock has risen fifteenfold in five years and is worth more than the next nine automakers combined; SpaceX launched twice as much mass into orbit as all competitors combined in Q1 2022 and was providing Starlink internet to 500,000 subscribers in forty countries. Musk's total wealth across his four companies reaches approximately $1.1 trillion. Despite this unprecedented success, Musk exhibits restlessness—what Shivon Zilis observes as the discomfort of a video-game addict who has won and cannot disengage. With $10 billion in cash from stock sales and no desire to leave it in the bank, Musk identifies Twitter as an ideal platform for his impulsive, unfiltered communication style. In January 2022, he instructs his manager Jared Birchall to begin buying shares confidentially. By March, Musk's concerns about what he views as censorship and the "woke-mind virus" intensify, particularly regarding the permanent ban of former President Trump. After conducting a Twitter poll on free speech that receives over 70 percent negative responses, he considers launching a new platform. Instead, board members persuade him to become involved with Twitter itself. On March 31, he dines secretly with CEO Parag Agrawal and board chair Bret Taylor at an Airbnb farmhouse near San Jose. Though he finds Agrawal likable, Musk judges him insufficiently aggressive—"what Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon." On April 5, after initially rejecting a restrictive seven-page board agreement, Musk accepts a streamlined three-paragraph version and joins Twitter's board, disclosing his 9 percent ownership stake. The next day at Giga Texas, Musk brainstorms with PayPal cofounders Luke Nosek and Ken Howery about Twitter's future. He articulates his vision of moving Twitter toward greater free speech, potentially implementing open-source algorithms and charging two dollars monthly for verification—an idea that would tie user identity to credit card and phone number, reducing spam and enabling Twitter to become a payments platform akin to his original X.com vision. That evening, dinner guests including Chris Anderson, his mother Maye, and Grimes discuss the Twitter involvement with concern. The next night at the Giga Texas grand opening on April 7—a lavish event featuring 15,000 guests, celebrity attendees, and drone shows—the celebration is overshadowed by anxiety among Musk's inner circle about his Twitter involvement, with some wondering if this represents a catastrophic distraction.