Elon Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth of $US273 billion, has bought 9% of social media platform Twitter, according to US securities filings.
The 73 million Twitter shares, valued at $2.9 billion on Friday, make Musk the largest shareholder, even more than founder Jack Dorsey.
The move sent Twitter shares up by more than a quarter.
Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, hasn't commented yet on his purchase but recently has been questioning the value of the social media platform.
He tweeted: "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"
He also asked whether he should start a social media service of his own.
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