Billionaire Elon Musk in Vancouver for TED Talk after offering to buy Twitter
Elon Musk is scheduled to speak at a conference in Vancouver just a short time after offering to buy a social media giant for more than US$40 billion.
Musk is in the city for "TED2022: A New Era," five-day conference that also brought Bill Gates to Canada's West Coast.
The TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks series brought more than 70 speakers to the city, according to organizers.
Thursday is the final day of the event, which includes talks, presentations, music, performances and comedy.
Organizers described the last day as "the climax of the week's speaker program," and used the word "epic" to describe the last session, in which Musk will be speaking. The day of events is being streamed live online.
Attending the talks isn't cheap. The lowest price for membership, which only covers one year, is US$5,000. The membership packages vary, but those who can afford it can pay up to US$250,000 for a five-year membership.
A description of Musk provided by TED2022 calls him a "social entrepreneur" and the co-founder of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.
His talk Thursday follows an offer to buy into another business: social media.
Days after rejecting a seat on the board of Twitter, which would have prevented him from a takeover, he offered billions to buy the company itself for US$43 billion.
In a letter to Twitter's chairperson, Musk said the platform needed to be transformed as a private company, and that just over $54 a share is his "best and final" offer.
He said if the offer isn't accepted, he'll be reconsidering his position as a shareholder.
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