Tesla chief Elon Musk put out word of his interest in buying Twitter for $43 billion in his usual way, with a cavalier tweet.

"I've made an offer," the tweet read, displaying a link to a related filing with US securities regulators.

The serial entrepreneur behind electric car star Tesla owns more than 9 percent of outstanding shares in the social network he has often criticized -- and now he wants it all.

Here is a look back at attention-grabbing Musk moments on Twitter, where he is followed by more than 81 million people.

In the week leading up to the blockbuster bid to take the global one-to-many messaging service private, Musk fired off tweets joking about removing the "w" from Twitter's name and turning its San Francisco offices into housing for the homeless since "no one shows up."

He conducted a Twitter poll asking whether there should be a button for editing tweets already posted, the outcome predictable since users of the service have long clamored for such a feature.

Musk has used Twitter as a stage to ask whether the social media network was "dying" and to call out users such as singer Justin Bieber, who are highly followed but rarely post.

Musk quipped during an on-stage interview at a TED conference in Vancouver on Friday that his tweets are "stream of consciousness," often authored while on the toilet.

The real Musk

Musk made his official Twitter debut on June 4, 2010, evidently to thwart others from tweeting in his name.

"Please ignore prior tweets, as that was someone pretending to be me," he wrote.

"This is actually me."

Musk follows just 112 people, according to his profile.

Prior to 2017, Musk's annual Twitter use was relatively low, according to website visualcapitalist.com. Musk fired off more than 1,000 for the first time that year and the number has only climbed, topping 3,000 in 2020 and 2021, the tracker indicated.

Most of his tweets have been about Tesla and his private space exploration enterprise SpaceX, with some devoted to topics such as politics, cryptocurrency and the environment, according to visualcapitalist.

'Pedo guy' gaffe

In July of 2018, Musk used Twitter to insult British caver Vernon Unsworth, who was part of a dramatic effort to rescue boys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Musk had sent a self-designed submarine that Unsworth had mocked as a publicity stunt not useful in the effort.

Musk's tweet, which included the unsubstantiated accusation calling the diver a "pedo guy" was deleted, but Unsworth filed a defamation lawsuit that ended with a jury ruling in favor of Musk in Los Angeles at the end of 2019.

US regulators

Musk found himself in the crosshairs of regulators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August of 2018 after he tweeted he might take Tesla private.

"Am considering taking Tesla private at $420," Musk said in the tweet.

"Funding secured."

The market reacted to Musk's surprise comment, which he never followed through on or provided proof to support.

A settlement with US regulators, who accused Musk of misleading investors, resulted in him stepping down as chairman of the Tesla board and paying a $20 million fine.

Musk was also required to have tweets directly related to Tesla's business be pre-approved by legal counsel at the car maker.

His clashes with US regulators include him tweeting that SEC actually stands for "Shortseller Enrichment Commission," inferring they were on the side of those betting against Tesla.

Offbeat products Musk has sold include red "short shorts" to mark Tesla shares climbing to the chagrin of those who tried to make money from the stock going down.

Tax time

In November of 2021, Musk used Twitter to poll his followers regarding whether to sell 10 percent of his Tesla shares. The query came thanks to a controversy over whether unrealized gains are a way to dodge taxes.

He vowed to abide by the outcome of the vote, which was in favor of selling the shares.

The SEC is investigating whether Musk told his brother, Kimbal, about the plan ahead of time to allow him to make favorable moves with Tesla shares, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Challenge to Putin

Musk challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "single combat" in a tweet fired off on March 14, 2022.

He said the winner would get Ukraine, which Russia invaded weeks earlier.

The head of the Chechen Republic, Putin-supporter Ramzan Kadyrov, responded that Musk would be fighting out of his weight class against a manly opponent.

Musk doubled-down during an ensuing exchange, even temporarily changing his displayed first name to "Elona" to shrug off Kadyrov's comments.

Free speech

Musk recently posted the results of a poll asking whether his Twitter followers think the platform "rigorously adheres" to the principle that free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.

The more than 2 million votes resulted in the majority saying "no."

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