Elon Musk becomes largest shareholder in Twitter with $3 billion stock buy

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has grabbed a huge stake in Twitter, making him the social media giant's biggest shareholder just days after questioning its commitment to free speech.

Musk's purchase, revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published on Monday, gives him a 9.2% ownership stake, according to the Financial Times. At Twitter's current valuation, Musk's purchase likely cost nearly $3 billion. It comes after a poll Musk posted on Twitter sparked speculation that he was considering buying Twitter or launching his own social network.

Musk, the world's richest man, now owns 73,486,938 shares in Twitter, according to the filing. The second-largest share is an 8.39% stake owned by the Vanguard Group. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey holds a 2.25% stake in the company's shares.