Elon Musk’s twitter deal on hold!
Tesla CEO recently tweeted on $44 billion deal can’t progress until the social-media company clarifies how many accounts are fake!
Latest twist of the twitter story as Elon Musk recently tweeted about his $44 billion purchase of Twitter can’t move forward until the company is clearer about how many of its accounts are fake, casting fresh doubt on his planned takeover of the social-media company.
Latest comments add to questions about whether he is committed to concluding a deal that was struck amid a steep selloff in technology stocks.
In a tweet early Tuesday, Mr. Musk said that Twitter’s chief executive had refused to show proof that less than 5% of Twitter’s accounts were fake. “This deal cannot move forward until he does,” he said.
*WSJ Tweet on the latest w/twitter & Musk deal
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal posted a series of tweets defending the company’s ability to fight spam accounts. Elon Musk responded with multiple tweets, including one that solely said: 💩 https://t.co/IdqoJllE0r
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 17, 2022
Mr. Musk said his offer was based on Twitter’s filings with the SEC being accurate, and added:
“20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.”
Mr. Musk’s tweet was in response to an article covering his own estimate, made at a conference a day earlier, in which he estimated that fake users make up at least 20% of all Twitter accounts.
Mr. Musk’s figure roughly matches one in a new report from a market-research firm, SparkToro.
The firm says it includes in its figures automated accounts that could be considered legitimate, such as ones that post a feed of news headlines.
In a statement, Twitter said it “is committed to completing the transaction on the agreed price and terms as promptly as practicable.”
the Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment further.
On Monday, Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal defended his company’s efforts to fight spam.
He said Twitter suspends more than half a million spam accounts a day and locks millions of accounts suspected of being fake weekly if they can’t be verified by humans.
“Unfortunately, we don’t believe that this specific estimation can be performed externally, given the critical need to use both public and private information [which we can’t share]
Mr. Musk responded with a number of tweets, with one showing a poop emoji.
💩
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2022
Twitter stock was lower in early pre-market trading Tuesday, down more than 2%, to about $36.44.
