Twitter adopts 'poison pill' to block Elon Musk takeover bid

Elon Musk founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX speaks during a news conference after a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket test flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla, Jan. 19, 2020. (John Raoux/AP)

John Raoux / John Raoux

Twitter is trying to stifle Elon Musk.

On Friday, the social media company unrolled a defense against Musk’s unwelcome takeover bid, introducing what is known as a poison pill to fend off Musk’s $43 billion acquisition attempt.

The maneuver, formally called a shareholder rights plan, essentially allows current shareholders to acquire more stock in the company at a discount, presenting Musk with a unwelcome “pill,” meaning his shares would become diluted and his purchase would become more expensive. It would require that Musk negotiate directly with Twitter’s board on any purchase attempt.