As details of Silicon Valley Bank’s closing were coming out, Elon Musk showed interest in buying it and converting it into a digital bank after the suggestion was made by Twitter user, Min-Liang Tan.

I’m open to the idea

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2023

Giving no further details on his comment, reactions were mixed. Kevin Paffrath, CEO of HouseHack praised the idea, saying:

“What an opportunity. 2-3 years to get a banking charter otherwise. Just make sure you go through those toxic assets with a fine-tooth comb!!”

Tesla investors, on the other hand, are worried that Musk would have to sell stock to purchase SVB. This happened when he had to sell shares to buy Twitter which in turn lead to Tesla’s stock dropping 60% last year.

There have been no further developments on whether Musk still plans to buy Silicon Valley Bank. As mentioned earlier, Elon Musk did buy Twitter, so it is not completely out of the realm of possibility. He was also one of the creators of PayPal back in 1998 so he is not completely out of his depths.

An interest in acquiring Silicon Valley Bank could be fueled by his interest in adding a payment method to Twitter’s platform. According to the Financial Times, Twitter has made attempts to obtain a regulatory license and create payment software earlier this year.