Musk: no spam account data, no Twitter deal
STORY: Elon Musk says his Twitter takeover won’t move ahead until the social network can prove it has less than 5% spam accounts.
Tuesday’s (May 17) comments come a day after he hinted he might try to pay a lower price for Twitter.
The billionaire said Monday (May 16) there could be at least four times more fake accounts than the firm has admitted.
Musk had already said his $44 billion bid was on hold pending more information about spam accounts.
He suspects they make up at least 20% of users - compared to Twitter’s estimate of 5%.
Asked Monday if the take-over was still viable at a different price, Musk said it wasn’t out of the question.
Earlier Monday, Twitter chief Parag Agrawal tweeted that spam accounts were “well under 5%”.
Musk replied by tweeting a poop emoji.
Many analysts have long wondered whether the Tesla founder is serious about his takeover bid.
His comments about the price could also land him in new trouble with regulators.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is already reported to be probing how Musk purchased his Twitter shares.
He’s alleged to have been late in disclosing that he had built up a big stake.
