Chaotic and crass: a brief timeline of Elon Musk’s history with Twitter

The billionaire’s purchase of humanity’s ‘digital town square’ is a culmination of his controversial past on the platform

A prolific user, Musk has 84 million followers on his account – with whom he shares memes, news about his electric vehicle company Tesla and, like the majority of Twitter users, pithy commentary on his day-to-day life. Picture: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

One of Twitter’s most controversial users became its owner on Monday, after Elon Musk brokered a bn deal to purchase the company.

The move was in many ways the culmination of the billionaire’s long history with the platform.