Read the letter Elon Musk sent Twitter's chairman outlining his 'best and final offer' to buy the company

• Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter outright in a deal valuing the social-media giant at $43 billion.
• He's currently Twitter's largest stockholder and came close to joining its board earlier this month.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter outright in a deal that values the social-media giant at $43 billion.

Musk proposed buying all Twitter stock he doesn't own for $54.20 per share, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed Thursday. He's currently Twitter's largest stockholder, having disclosed on April 4 that he'd taken a 9.2% stake in the company.

The day after he disclosed his stake, Twitter announced Musk had been appointed to the company's board, but said five days later that he'd since turned down the position. By joining the board, Musk's stock ownership would have been capped at 14.9%, preventing him from buying the company.

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Here's the letter Musk sent Wednesday to Twitter chairman Bret Taylor outlining his offer to buy Twitter, per Thursday's SEC filing:

Bret Taylor

Chairman of the Board,

I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.

However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.

As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.

Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.

Elon Musk