Elon Musk makes offer to buy Twitter

Tesla boss Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter, saying he is the right person to "unlock" the social media platform's "extraordinary potential".

In a surprise announcement, Mr Musk said he would pay $54.20 a share for Twitter.

It recently emerged that Mr Musk was Twitter's biggest shareholder after he built up a large stake in the firm.

He said that if his offer was not accepted "I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder".

In a filing with the US financial regulator, Mr Musk said: "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."

He added: "Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it."