Elon Musk is apparently running out of money so fast that he’s looking for you to pony up the cash to keep Twitter alive.
Well, not you. But somebody! According to a new report from Semafor, the managing director of Elon Musk’s family office reached out to potential or existing investors asking for them to dump more money into the currently money-burning company.
According to the email, which was sent by Musk’s money manager, Jared Birchall, they are asking for individuals to invest in the company at the same price that Musk originally purchased it for back in October: $54.20 per share. They are looking to close on new investments by the end of the year, giving people only two weeks to make a call.
“Over recent weeks we’ve received numerous inbound requests to invest in Twitter,” it read, according to a copy reviewed by Semafor. “Accordingly, we are pleased to announce a follow-on equity offering for common shares at the original price and terms, targeting a year-end close.”
The proposal has caught the interest of at least one current investor. Ross Gerber, an investor in Tesla who currently has $1 million in the Twitter deal, says that he was contacted and is debating whether to increase his investment.
Gerber said he’s considering it but wants to get a clearer idea of what the plan is. “One could argue he has created value or destroyed value at Twitter. It’s hard to tell at this point,” he said.
It’s certainly strange to see Musk, who has very publicly stated that he overpaid for Twitter, now ask investors to pay the same while the company is hemorrhaging money as advertisers continue to flee the platform.
Musk just unloaded another $3.6 billion in Tesla stock this week, likely to keep Twitter afloat as debt and expenses continue to mount and close in. The company also just relaunched Twitter Blue (again) to try and entice users to subscribe for more features, including the infamous blue checkmark, on the platform.
