OLD NEWS

The planned purchase of Twitter by South African-born billionaire Elon Musk reached an impasse Tuesday morning, Musk said.

The Tesla founder and world’s wealthiest man tweeted Tuesday morning that the $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter “cannot move forward” at this time, accusing the company’s chief executive officer of concealing data related to Twitter’s user base and value.

“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.”

• The tweet comes after Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal posted a comment to the social media network rejecting Musk’s plan to sample 100 random accounts in a bid to assess the proportion of fake accounts on Twitter.

Musk tweeted his disapproval of Agrawal’s post with a feces emoji.

Tuesday’s tweet is the latest in a series of social media comments by Musk sowing doubt on the future of the Twitter deal.

The billionaire has given mixed messages recently regarding his plans for Twitter, saying both that the deal was “temporarily on hold” but that he is “still committed” to purchase the company. The tweets sent Twitter shares plummeting, then rising, with the company recouping some of its losses.

The $44 billion deal includes a $1 billion penalty for either side, should they renege outright on the agreement, though it is unclear whether a reassessment of the number of authentic accounts on the platform could free Musk from the clause.

Last week, former President Donald Trump expressed doubts that the deal proposed by Musk would be completed, citing the large number of fake accounts.

• “There is no way Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter at such a ridiculous price, especially since realizing it is a company largely based on BOTS or Spam Accounts,” Trump wrote on his rival Truth Social social media network.

“Fake Anyone? By the time you get rid of them, if that can even be done, what do you have? Not much? If it weren’t for the ridiculous Billion Dollar breakup fee, Elon would have already been long gone. Just my opinion, but Truth Social is much better than Twitter and is absolutely exploding, incredible engagement!”

Source: Arutz Sheva