Elon Musk said his $ 44 billion bid to buy Twitter was “temporarily withheld” until he received more details to confirm that spam and fake accounts account for less than 5 percent of the total social network users. .
Mr Musk tweeted before dawn on Friday, the latest chapter in an unfolding corporate drama that has raised questions about online free speech and the consequences of putting the world’s richest man at the helm of one of the world’s most influential social groups. media platforms.
Mr Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said freeing the platform from fake accounts, bots and spam would be one of his top priorities after taking office. In his tweet, Mr Musk referred to a May 2 Twitter regulatory request that included an estimate of the number of spam and fake accounts.
Known for his free and sometimes impulsive business style, Mr Musk’s comments raised questions about the future of the deal.
About two hours after his initial announcement on Friday – and after Twitter shares fell about 20 percent in pre-marketing – Mr Musk reiterated that he was “still committed to the acquisition”.
Twitter has few restrictions on registering an account and the company has long struggled with spam and bots. But it was difficult to pinpoint the scale of the problem. In a May 2 regulatory dossier, Twitter said it had estimated that less than 5 percent of its users were counterfeit or spam, a figure it had revealed earlier. Twitter warned that it had applied “significant judgment” in performing the calculations and that its “estimation of fake or spam accounts may not represent the exact number”, a language similar to that used in past company documents.
Mr Musk’s comments were seen either as a tactic to lower the cost of the acquisition or as a pretext for a possible full withdrawal.
“Many will see this as Musk, who uses this Twitter / spam account as a way to get out of this deal in a highly changing market,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, in a note to investors.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Musk’s surprise offer on Twitter has sparked much debate about the role of the social media platform in controlling what its users say. Twitter has spent years trying to combat hate speech, harassment and other online abuse, but Mr Musk, who has a history of using the platform to attack and downplay critics, has vowed to loosen the company’s content moderation policies. On Tuesday, he said he would lift the ban on former President Donald J. Trump.
How Elon Musk bought Twitter
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Blockbuster deal. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, limited what seemed to be the incredible billionaire’s attempt to buy Twitter for approximately $ 44 billion. Here’s how the deal went:
The initial offer. Mr Musk has made an unwelcome bid of more than $ 40 billion for the influential social network, saying he wants to make Twitter a private company and wants people to be able to speak more freely on the service.
Refusal to make a deal can be confusing. The purchase agreement includes a $ 1 billion fee that Mr. Musk will have to pay if he terminates the deal, although it was unclear how such a clause would be implemented if Mr. Musk could prove that the data on consumers of Twitter is wrong. If Mr Musk’s debt financing is intact, Twitter could also take the billionaire to court to force him to pay for the deal.
Mr Musk has promised to use a significant amount of his personal fortune to fund the Twitter deal, a plan that has been affected by the recent fall in stock prices, including Tesla. Shares of Tesla fell nearly 30 percent in the last month. Mr Musk is simultaneously selling shares in Tesla and providing them as collateral for personal loans to raise cash.
If the deal is completed, Twitter’s business challenges could force Mr Musk to buy more from the electric car maker to fill potential financial gaps. And any problem at Tesla that has caused its shares to fall far enough could trigger clauses in Mr Musk’s personal loans that will require him to add more collateral, limiting his ability to invest in Twitter.
Shares of Tesla rose on Friday after comments by Mr. Musk.
Mr Musk’s offer has created uncertainty on Twitter, a company that is already struggling to add users and generate more revenue. On Thursday, Twitter’s chief executive, Parag Agraval, fired two top executives, suspended new hires and vowed to cut costs.
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