[ti:American Businessman Elon Musk Offers to Buy Twitter] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]American businessman Elon Musk [00:03.56]has offered to buy Twitter and take the company private. [00:09.32]The plans were made public Thursday in a filing Twitter made [00:15.60]with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. [00:21.20]Musk heads the companies Tesla and SpaceX. [00:26.80]He has been declared the world’s richest person by Forbes magazine, [00:33.08]with an estimated worth of $219 billion. [00:38.88]Musk’s latest move comes after Twitter recently confirmed [00:45.44]that his past investments had already given him [00:49.72]a 9.2 percent share in the company. [00:53.92]The new filing said Musk had proposed [00:58.20]buying the remaining shares of Twitter at $54.20 per share. [01:05.32]The offer puts a valuation of the social media company at about $43 billion. [01:14.84]Musk told Twitter his proposed price was his best and final offer. [01:22.56]He has not provided any details about financing plans. [01:28.16]Musk said if his offer is rejected, [01:32.36]he would reconsider his position as a shareholder. [01:36.80]In his government filing, Musk said he invested in Twitter [01:42.44]because he believes “in its potential [01:46.08]to be the platform for free speech” around the world. [01:51.12]He added, however, that he now thinks the only way Twitter [01:56.44]can become such a platform [01:58.96]is to be “transformed” into a private company. [02:03.92]Twitter said it had received Musk's offer and will decide [02:09.68]whether it is in the best interests of shareholders to accept it [02:14.76]or continue to operate as a publicly traded company. [02:20.12]Daniel Ives is an industry expert [02:24.08]with the investment company Wedbush Securities. [02:28.44]He said in a note to clients he believes Twitter will accept Musk’s offer, [02:36.00]which he called an “aggressive, hostile takeover of the company.” [02:41.48]Ives added that it would be difficult for any other individual [02:47.28]or groups to come forward with a comparable offer. [02:52.76]In the past, Musk has been critical [02:56.36]of some of Twitter’s policies related to free speech issues. [03:02.12]He recently created a poll on Twitter that asked users [03:08.20]if they believed the service was committed [03:11.56]to permitting free speech for all individuals. [03:15.92]In the latest government filing, Musk said Twitter has great potential [03:22.80]and he thinks that he is the right person to “unlock” that potential. [03:29.96]Twitter has not done as well as [03:33.32]some other social media companies in recent years. [03:37.92]It reported a net loss of $221 million for 2021. [03:45.96]The loss was largely tied to a settlement of a lawsuit [03:50.92]by shareholders who said the company had misled investors. [03:56.32]The shareholders accused the company of misleading them [04:01.12]about how much its user base was growing [04:04.80]and how much users interacted with its platform. [04:09.72]Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey [04:13.16]resigned as Chief Executive Officer in late November [04:18.12]and the position was given to Parag Agrawal. [04:23.28]I’m Bryan Lynn. [04:25.92]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM