Tesla CEO Elon Musk just bought nearly $3 billion in Twitter shares, becoming the company’s largest single shareholder.

Driving the news: A filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission released Monday announced that Musk now owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, which is about 9.2% of the company’s stake.

  • That stake was worth about $2.89 billion at the end of the day Friday, per CNBC.

Worth noting: Twitter founder Jack Dorsey holds about 2.25% of the company’s stake, according to BBC News.

  • This means Musk has more than four times the amount of stake compared to the company’s founder.

The bigger picture: Musk’s move to buy such a hefty share may be a sign he’s looking to overtake Twitter altogether.

  • “Musk could try to take a more aggressive stance here on Twitter,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told CNBC on Monday. “This eventually could lead to some sort of buyout.”
  • “This makes sense given what Musk has at least been talking about, at least from a social media perspective,” Ives said.

Flashback: In late March, Musk asked his followers whether Twitter promoted free speech.

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What he said: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy,” he wrote.

  • “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” he added.
  • He then asked: “Is a new platform needed?”
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