"The 44 Billion Twitter Deal Cannot Move Forward," Elon Musk Cites Deceit
Elon Musk may be looking for a better deal with his Twitter acquisition and $44 billion may now be sounding like a price that is just a bit too high.
During a tech conference called “All In” in Miami on Monday, Musk remarked that he believes 20 per cent of users on the platform are fake or spam accounts, and it may be the reason the Tesla CEO did not rule out the possibility of a deal reformation that would require him to pay a lower price.
According to Bloomberg, Musk stated the possibility of a reformed Twitter was not “out of the question,” causing Twitter’s stocks to fall further.
Analysts have questioned Musk’s taste for the $44 billion acquisition agreement over the past several days.
While Musk reaffirmed that he is still committed to acquiring Twitter after stating the deal is on hold last week, he also confirmed during his nearly two-hour-long interview that a new price, especially a lower one, would not be far-fetched.
Musk reportedly said that the more questions he asks Twitter brass, the more his concerns grow, as he is yet to receive a concrete answer on how many fake or spam accounts are on the platform.
In a Twitter message this Tuesday, Musk said the deal cannot move forward until he’s been furnished with the information he requested. He said:
20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher. My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.
End of last month, he said, “Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in.” We don’t know whether this was not a joke or not.
