Tron founder joins Twitter fray and covers Elon Musk offer

Billionaire Elon Musk caused controversy when he offered about $43 billion to buy the social network Twitter. However, the founder of Tesla has gained a strong competitor: Justin Sun, creator of the Tron blockchain.

On Thursday, Musk presented his proposal to Twitter shareholders, offering $54.50 a share. According to market data, the offer is about 38% above the company’s market price.

However, Sun announced on his Twitter account that he had matched Musk’s offer, offering $60 a share. And it went further: the founder of Tron wants to transform the social network into a decentralized platform with support for Web3.

In this sense, Twitter would become a collaborative and open source platform, similar to what happens with BTC. Sun also said he intends to move Twitter’s headquarters out of the US, making it less dependent on the US government.

Musk makes offer

First, why did Elon Musk decide to try to acquire full control of Twitter? The CEO had already bought 9.2% of the company’s shares, whose market value is valued at US$ 260 billion. And Musk made it clear that the purchase would not stop at that percentage.

In a letter to Twitter chairman Bret Taylor, Musk wrote that he invested in Twitter because he believes in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the world and also championed free speech. But he was critical of the way the social network deals with this freedom.

“However, since I made my investment, I have realized that the company will not thrive or meet this social imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be turned into a private company. This is my best and final offer. If not accepted, I will need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk said.

Therefore, Musk decided to acquire control of Twitter to make it a private company, that is, to go private. In addition, he implied that he could sell his shares if he fails to acquire control of the platform.

Sun’s counterproposal

A few hours after Musk’s proposal was launched, Justin Sun decided to speak out. The CEO of Tron agreed that the social network needs to be reformed, but revealed to have a different idea than Musk. Then, he revealed that he’s offering $60 a share to acquire Twitter.

Sun also intends to go private and make the platform a private company, but at the same time collaborative.

I believe @Twitter is far from unleashing its full potential, thus I am offering $60 per share to take the platform private. But we fully support the reform initiatives of @elonmusk and would love to see Twitter becoming crypto-native and Web3 friendly.

— HE Justin Sun 🅣🌞🇬🇩 (@justinsuntron) April 14, 2022

The amounts are quite high as Twitter is a non-profit company. according to your financial results the social network had an operating loss of US$ 493 million in 2021. But both Musk and Sun believe that the network can reverse this scenario.

This is the same opinion as Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX exchange, who defended Sun’s proposal for the evolution of Twitter. Bankman-Fried says the social network can generate profit in two ways: by charging a small fee for each message and through advertisements.