Brash and fast: How unwelcome suitor Elon Musk took over Twitter

It was one of the most frenzied and unpredictable takeover bids ever, with Elon Musk sealing a deal to acquire Twitter Inc. for $44 billion within weeks of anyone even knowing he was an investor.

A month ago, Musk’s main connection to the social media platform was as a prolific user. From there he outed himself as Twitter’s largest shareholder, before becoming a short-lived prospective board member, a hostile suitor and finally a successful dealmaker -- tweeting dozens of times along the way. 

The transaction came together at breakneck speed in part because Musk waived the chance to look at Twitter’s finances beyond what was publicly available, but also because that’s how the billionaire works. The 50-year-old Tesla Inc. head was deeply