‘Love me tender’: how Musk wooed Twitter, only to leave it at the altar

An affair between the tycoon and the platform he adores was always going to be tricky. Now the courts are involved

It was late January and Elon Musk had just announced a change of gear at Tesla, the world's largest electric car company. In the teeth of a global supply chain crisis, the firm would not be releasing any new models until at least 2023. But America's $230bn (194bn) tech tycoon had found another focus for his attention. Within days, he had begun investing large sums in Twitter shares, to build a stake that eventually reached more than 9%.

On 26 March, Musk held a conversation with his old friend Jack Dorsey. But this wasn't an informal catch-up: Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter, had retained a seat on its board and the two men, along with another board member, discussed whether Musk should also become a director.