Elon Musk becomes Twitter's largest individual shareholder

Elon Musk considers creating a new social network 0:59

(CNN) --

Elon Musk recently bought 9.2% of Twitter stock, according to a filing Monday, making him the company's largest single shareholder.

News of the purchase sent shares of Twitter soaring 24% in premarket trading.

Musk did not disclose what he paid for the shares, but his stake was worth $2.9 billion at the close of trading on Friday, and $3.6 billion after Monday's hike.

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Anytime an investor buys 5% or more of a company's stock, they must disclose the purchase on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Although less than a 10% stake in a company is considered "passive" in the eyes of Wall Street, it could indicate an effort by Musk to take a more active role in running Twitter.

That is one of the factors that has prompted other investors to buy stocks and push the price higher early on Monday.

"I think he intends to act and force change on Twitter," said Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities.

"This is a shot at Twitter's board of directors and management team to start discussions."

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Musk has 80 million followers on Twitter, far more than any CEO.

Last month he said he was "seriously" thinking about creating a new social media platform.

As he does with most of his announcements, he revealed that possible move in a tweet.

• Elon Musk Says He's Seriously Considering Creating a New Social Media Platform

That tweet and subsequent stock purchase comes after Musk's latest criticism of Twitter, in which he claimed the platform does not allow free speech.

"Since Twitter serves as a de facto public square, failing to adhere to the principles of free speech fundamentally undermines democracy."

Musk tweeted just before revealing the idea for a new platform.

"What is there to do?".

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