Twitter said that its board would examine the proposal, which Musk described in the filing as his “best and final offer”.

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“The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders,” it said in a statement.

The companies shares today traded well below the $54.20 offer price, suggesting some scepticism over the deal, while Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a major Twitter shareholder, said Musk’s offer doesn’t come “close” to being adequate.

The bid is the latest saga in Musk’s volatile relationship with Twitter. The 50-year-old is the richest man in the world, valued at $259 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He is also one of the platform’s most-watched figures, often tweeting out memes and taunts to his 80 million-plus followers. After being outspoken about changes he’d like to impose on the social media giant, and the company offered him a seat on the board following the announcement of his stake, which made him the largest individual shareholder.

By taking the company private, Musk will have capacity to make widespread reform, which some have speculated could involve lifting the ban on former US president Donald Trump. Trump was blocked from using the platform early last year, shortly after the attack on the US Capitol building.

But if the deal doesn’t work, Musk has told the company he would need to reconsider his position as a shareholder “given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market.

Musk himself expressed doubts about the likely success of his bid on Friday, telling the TED talk in Vancouver: “I am not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it.

He also said: “I don’t like losing. I’m not sure many people do. But the truth matters to me a lot.”

Asked how he would respond to those who did not believe the world’s richest person should own Twitter - and if there was any way he could distance himself from the decision-making when it comes to content - he replied: “I think it’s very important that the algorithm be open source and that any manual adjustments be identified so if someone does something to a tweet, then there’s information attached to it (showing) that action was taken.

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“I won’t personally be in there editing tweets,” he joked.

Musk informed Twitter’s board over the previous weekend that he thought the company should be taken private, according to Thursday’s statement.

The $US54.20 per share offer is “too low” for shareholders or the board to accept, said Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli in a report, adding that the company’s shares hit $US70 less than a year ago.

with Bloomberg