Musk and Twitter: Volatile courtship ends in unlikely union

Elon Musk’s pursuit of Twitter was a melodrama from the beginning — a volatile courtship between a mercurial billionaire and an influential social media platform.

That relationship — a love-hate affair from both sides — is at last a sure thing, with Musk taking control of the company Thursday.

Here is a look at his on-off romance with the network:

It all began with an expensive first date: Musk — a longtime Twitter user known for inflammatory tweets — snapped up 73.5 million shares at a cost of nearly $2.9 billion.

The purchase, which was revealed in an April 4 regulatory filing and gave him a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, sent Twitter shares soaring and sparked speculation that Musk was seeking an active role in the social media company’s operations.