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Twitter to adopt ‘poison pill’ strategy to fend off Musk’s $43B bid for platform

(Credit: Ryan Lash/TED)

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Twitter’s Board will adopt the “poison pill” strategy to fend off Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $43 billion bid to buy the social media platform.

A new statement from Twitter released just after noon on Friday in New York said the company plans to adopt “limited duration shareholder rights plan, enabling all shareholders realize full value of company.”

“Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan”). The Board adopted the Rights Plan following an unsolicited, non-binding proposal to acquire Twitter,” the company said in a statement. “The Rights Plan does not prevent the Board from engaging with parties or accepting an acquisition proposal if the Board believes that it is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders.”

A “poison pill” method allows shareholders to purchase more shares at a steep discount, making the likelihood of a hostile takeover decrease. Pizza chain Papa John’s used the strategy in June 2018 to prevent ousted founder John Schnatter from gaining control of the company. Netflix also used the “poison pill” strategy in 2012.

“The Rights Plan is intended to enable all shareholders to realize the full value of their investment in Twitter,” the platform said. “The Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders.”

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LIVESTREAM: Tesla CEO Elon Musk to speak at TED2022

Musk, who offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share yesterday, has stood by the fact that he is not sure whether he will be able to buy the company because of the board, but that he is financially able. However, he has spoken out that, if the Board’s decision is to not allow the buyout, Twitter would be not obliging by the “fiduciary duty” it owes its shareholders. “If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty,” Musk said on Thursday. “The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.”

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Wedbush’s Dan Ives believes Twitter’s course of action could be challenged legally. “Twitter going down the poison pill path is a predictable defensive measure for the Board to go down that will not be viewed positively by shareholders given the potential dilution and acquisition unfriendly move,” Ives said regarding the platform’s statement. “Likely challenged in Courts,” he added.

Musk said there is a “Plan B” if Twitter does not agree to the sale.

Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA shareholder but is not a TWTR shareholder.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk

Why Tesla’s Q3 could be one of its biggest quarters in history

Tesla could stand to benefit from the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit at the end of Q3.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has gotten off to a slow start in 2025, as the first half of the year has not been one to remember from a delivery perspective.

However, Q3 could end up being one of the best the company has had in history, with the United States potentially being a major contributor to what might reverse a slow start to the year.

Earlier today, the United States’ House of Representatives officially passed President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” after it made its way through the Senate earlier this week. The bill will head to President Trump, as he looks to sign it before his July 4 deadline.

The Bill will effectively bring closure to the $7,500 EV tax credit, which will end on September 30, 2025. This means, over the next three months in the United States, those who are looking to buy an EV will have their last chance to take advantage of the credit. EVs will then be, for most people, $7,500 more expensive, in essence.

The tax credit is available to any single filer who makes under $150,000 per year, $225,000 a year to a head of household, and $300,000 to couples filing jointly.

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Ending the tax credit was expected with the Trump administration, as his policies have leaned significantly toward reliance on fossil fuels, ending what he calls an “EV mandate.” He has used this phrase several times in disagreements with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Nevertheless, those who have been on the fence about buying a Tesla, or any EV, for that matter, will have some decisions to make in the next three months. While all companies will stand to benefit from this time crunch, Tesla could be the true winner because of its sheer volume.

If things are done correctly, meaning if Tesla can also offer incentives like 0% APR, special pricing on leasing or financing, or other advantages (like free Red, White, and Blue for a short period of time in celebration of Independence Day), it could see some real volume in sales this quarter.

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Tesla is just a shade under 721,000 deliveries for the year, so it’s on pace for roughly 1.4 million for 2025. This would be a decrease from the 1.8 million cars it delivered in each of the last two years. Traditionally, the second half of the year has produced Tesla’s strongest quarters. Its top three quarters in terms of deliveries are Q4 2024 with 495,570 vehicles, Q4 2023 with 484,507 vehicles, and Q3 2024 with 462,890 vehicles.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving testing continues European expansion: here’s where

Tesla has launched Full Self-Driving testing in a fifth European country ahead of its launch.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving is being tested in several countries across Europe as the company prepares to launch its driver assistance suite on the continent.

The company is still working through the regulatory hurdles with the European Union. They are plentiful and difficult to navigate, but Tesla is still making progress as its testing of FSD continues to expand.

Today, it officially began testing in a new country, as more regions open their doors to Tesla. Many owners and potential customers in Europe are awaiting its launch.

On Thursday, Tesla officially confirmed that Full Self-Driving testing is underway in Spain, as the company shared an extensive video of a trip through the streets of Madrid:

The launch of Full Self-Driving testing in Spain marks the fifth country in which Tesla has started assessing the suite’s performance in the European market.

Across the past several months, Tesla has been expanding the scope of countries where Full Self-Driving is being tested. It has already made it to Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Germany previously.

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Tesla has already filed applications to have Full Self-Driving (Supervised) launched across the European Union, but CEO Elon Musk has indicated that this particular step has been the delay in the official launch of the suite thus far.

In mid-June, Musk revealed the frustrations Tesla has felt during its efforts to launch its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite in Europe, stating that the holdup can be attributed to authorities in various countries, as well as the EU as a whole:

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s European launch frustrations revealed by Elon Musk

“Waiting for Dutch authorities and then the EU to approve. Very frustrating and hurts the safety of people in Europe, as driving with advanced Autopilot on results in four times fewer injuries! Please ask your governing authorities to accelerate making Tesla safer in Europe.”

Tesla said last year that it planned to launch Full Self-Driving in Europe in 2025.

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xAI’s Memphis data center receives air permit despite community criticism

xAI welcomed the development in a post on its official xAI Memphis account on X.

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xAI-supercomputer-memphis-environment-pushback

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has secured an air permit from Memphis health officials for its data center project, despite critics’ opposition and pending legal action. The Shelby County Health Department approved the permit this week, allowing xAI to operate 15 mobile gas turbines at its facility.

Air permit granted

The air permit comes after months of protests from Memphis residents and environmental justice advocates, who alleged that xAI violated the Clean Air Act by operating gas turbines without prior approval, as per a report from WIRED

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and the NAACP has claimed that xAI installed dozens of gas turbines at its new data campus without acquiring the mandatory Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit required for large-scale emission sources.

Local officials previously stated the turbines were considered “temporary” and thus not subject to stricter permitting. xAI applied for an air permit in January 2025, and in June, Memphis Mayor Paul Young acknowledged that the company was operating 21 turbines. SELC, however, has claimed that aerial footage shows the number may be as high as 35.

Critics are not giving up

Civil rights groups have stated that they intend to move forward with legal action. “xAI’s decision to install and operate dozens of polluting gas turbines without any permits or public oversight is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act,” said Patrick Anderson, senior attorney at SELC. 

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“Over the last year, these turbines have pumped out pollution that threatens the health of Memphis families. This notice paves the way for a lawsuit that can hold xAI accountable for its unlawful refusal to get permits for its gas turbines,” he added.

Sharon Wilson, a certified optical gas imaging thermographer, also described the emissions cloud in Memphis as notable. “I expected to see the typical power plant type of pollution that I see. What I saw was way worse than what I expected,” she said.

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