Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter is ‘temporarily on hold’ while he tries to determine the true number of fake and spam accounts.
Summary
Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter is ‘temporarily on hold’ while he tries to determine the true number of fake and spam accounts.
- Musk tweeted he’d be putting the deal on ice until he received verification that spam/fake accounts were truly less than 5 percent of users like Twitter claimed.
- One of Musk’s priorities was to rid the social media website of “spam bots” and other fake accounts to help create an “inclusive arena for free speech.”
- The billionaire expressed skepticism that the spam accounts constitute “less than 5 percent of users” statistic was genuine.
- Twitter shares fell by 17.7 percent before markets opened, reaching their lowest level since Musk first announced his stake in the social media giant in April. Tesla stocks, in contrast, were up about 5 percent.
- Twitter’s stock plunge came amid a tech futures rally after a week of stock market losses.
- The New York Times attributed the pause to Musk’s “freewheeling and sometimes impulsive business style” and expressed skepticism on the viability of the deal, even though Musk reiterated he was “still committed to acquisition.”
- The Washington Post noted Tesla has lost $400 billion in market value since Musk’s $44 billion Twitter dalliance began in April.
- CNN quoted a tech analyst who in dramatic fashion said Musk had “turned this Twitter circus show into a Friday the 13th horror show.”
- Fox News covered Musk’s pledge to reverse Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump. He said it was “morally wrong” and under his aegis permanent bans would be “extremely rare.”
- The Wall Street Journal reported Twitter froze hiring amid the takeover bid and two senior managers were apparently fired in a staff shakeup.
- Breitbart put Musk’s actions in context with an alleged SEC probe of Musk’s late submission of a public investor form when he announced his initial bid to buy Twitter.
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© Dominic Moore, 2022
