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The 978 million reasons Jack Dorsey says 'Elon Musk is the singular solution I trust'

Dorsey owns 18,042,428 shares in the firm, which is equivalent to 2.4 per cent of the company, which is now going to be bought by Musk for $54.20 each

Welcoming Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, the platform's co-founder, Jack Dorsey, has said that Musk is "the singular solution I trust." He added, "I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness." 45-year-old Dorsey has long been a supporter of Musk, who is set to buy Twitter for $44 billion, a deal that he struck on Monday, April 25. The firm, which is publicly traded, will now become a private company owned by the world's richest man. Musk reportedly negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per share.

Dorsey took to Twitter to say, "Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive” is the right one. This is also @paraga’s goal, and why I chose him. Thank you both for getting the company out of an impossible situation. This is the right path...I believe it with all my heart."

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"I love Twitter. Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness," Dorsey tweeted. "The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step."

"In principle, I don't believe anyone should own or run Twitter," Dorsey added. "It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness."

Dorsey is reportedly in line to receive a $978 million payout after Musk bought the social media giant he created. He owns 18,042,428 shares in the firm, which is equivalent to 2.4 percent of the company, which is now going to be bought by Musk for $54.20 each.

Additionally, CEO Parag Agrawal is in line for a $38.7 million pay package. The board's current chair, Bret Taylor, is in line to receive a cash payout of just over $3 million, and former executive chairman, 59-year-old Omid Kordestani is set to receive a $50.6 million payout. Kordestani still remains on the boards of Twitter and Klarna. Previously on the boards of Spotify and Vodafone, Kordestani has also worked for Google. 

Musk has been a steadfast proponent of ‘free speech’ on Twitter. The Tesla co-founder had earlier opened up about an ‘Edit Button’ on the platform and went on to hold a poll, deliberately misspelling yes and no, possibly to bring to the users' attention that the button is needed as people often make typographical errors while tweeting. Twitter has reportedly now confirmed the Edit button will be introduced.

Musk is one of the most prolific users of Twitter with more than 83 million followers. In January, he began amassing a stake of about 9% and had ramped up his criticism of the microblogging platform by March, alleging that Twitter's growth was inflated by bots. He also said that the platform's feeds are overwhelmed with automated junk posts and that the company's algorithms are biased.

The transaction, unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022. As per an official statement, the platform, with the agreement, is set to "be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share."