Twitter surges 30% as Elon Musk takes big stake that some believe is 'just the start'
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Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares surged on Monday as investors digested the fact that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk has disclosed that he purchased 73.5 million shares, good for a 9.2% passive stake in the company. While he may be busy with his other two day jobs, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives believes this is "just the start."
In a note to clients, Ives pointed out that Musk has long been critical of Twitter for what he believes is a failure "to adhere to free speech principles," which "fundamentally undermines democracy."
Musk has previously toyed with the idea of building a new platform, going so far as to ask his followers to weigh in with their thoughts on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and how it operates.
Ives explained that the 9.2% passive stake is likely to be the start of more conversations with the company's board and management and could lead to an active stake and perhaps a "more aggressive ownership role of Twitter."
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
Twitter (TWTR) shares surged nearly 30% to $50.80 in mid-day trading on Monday following the news.
Ives, who covers Tesla (TSLA), added that this move is a furthering of Musk "building out his tentacles" and is not concerned with the tech chieftain "taking his eye off the ball" with regarding either Tesla or SpaceX. 
Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black, who rates Twitter (TWTR) a hold, said the likelihood that Musk brings any "immediate change" to Twitter would be limited, but noted the investment could have the company accelerated its transition to Direct Response products at a faster pace.
Truist analyst Youssef Squali seemed to agree, writing in a note that Musk's involvement, both from a financial and strategic perspective, is likely to help the pace of innovation and boost its ability to generate revenue.
Last month, it was reported that Twitter's (TWTR) TweetDeck platform may become a subscriber-only platform.