Fundraising can be a long, hard grind for most people, with emails to VCs, pitch-decks, and in-person presentations, but things are different when you’re Elon Musk.
Elon Musk had needed just 7 text messages to raise $1 billion to acquire Twitter, recently released communication from a court case shows. In 2022, Elon Musk had looked to acquire Twitter, but the price tag of $44 billion was steep even for the richest man in the world. At that point, he’d looked to cobble together a coalition that could come together and buy the social media giant.
Among the people Musk had reached out to was Larry Ellison, the founder and Executive Chairman of Oracle. Ellison at that point was worth $103 billion, and was one of the richest men in the world. Musk decided to text him.
“Any interest in participating in the Twitter deal?” Musk asked. Ellison seemed immediately interested. “Yes…of course” he replied with a thumbs up emoji. Musk responded with just “Cool”.
Musk then got into the specifics.”Roughly what dollar size? Not holding you to anything, but the deal is oversubscribed, so I have to reduce or kick out some participants,” Musk texted.
Now granted Larry Ellison was worth over $100 billion at that point, but he agreed to put in $1 billion (Rs. 8,500 crore) immediately on text. “A billion..or whatever you recommend,” he told Musk.
But Musk didn’t seem satisfied with just a billion dollars. “Whatever works for you. “I’d recommend $2billion or more. This has very high potential and I’d rather have you than anyone else,” he said. Ellison didn’t immediately commit to $2 billion. “I agree that it has huge potential…and it would be lots of fun,” he told Musk.
Larry Ellison ended up putting in $1 billion to acquire Twitter. He was joined by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who put in $1.9 billion, and VC firm Sequoia and others. Musk acquired Twitter, and the decision would prove to be pivotal — he removed the restrictions that conservatives had faced on the platform, and it’s believed that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter played a big part in the eventual re-election of Donald Trump as the US President.
Musk isn’t the only person who’s managed to raise large sums of money in double quick time. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son had famously raised $45 billion through a 45 minute conversation with Mohammad Bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. As with Musk, Son’s reputation had preceded him, enabling him to raise a big chunk of the Vision Fund through a simple conversation. Which just goes to show that if people believe your abilities, raising a billion dollars can be done through text messages you can send while you’re in the loo.