Elon Musk Puts Twitter Deal On Hold - Here's Why

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIn the latest turn of Elon Musk’s will-he-or-won’t-he Twitter buyout saga, the billionaire is demanding hard proof of the social network’s assertion that less than 5% of its users are fake accounts or spam bots — and he said the deal cannot “move forward” until Twitter does so.Without citing any evidence for his claim, Musk tweeted that Twitter’s base could represent “20% fake/spam accounts,” four times what the company claims, and it “could be *much* higher.” He cited Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s reply Monday to Musk’s assertion about the fake/spam accounts, in which Agrawal said in part that “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).” “My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.

Elon Musk said overnight that his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter can’t move ahead unless the company backs up statements about the number of fake accounts on the platform, which the company has put at under 5%.

Elon Musk said Friday that his planned $44 billion purchase of Twitter is «temporarily on hold» pending details on spam and fake accounts on the social media platform, another twist amid signs of internal turmoil over the proposed acquisition.In a tweet, the Tesla billionaire linked to a Reuters story from May 2 citing a financial filing from Twitter that estimated false or spam accounts made up fewer than 5% of the company's «monetizable daily active users» in the first quarter.«Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,» Musk said, indicating he's skeptical that the number of inauthentic accounts is that low.A short time later on Friday morning, Musk tweeted that he remains committed to the purchase. Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuynIt wasn't clear whether the issue could scuttle the deal. Shares of both Twitter and Tesla swung sharply in opposite directions, with Twitter's stock tumbling 17% to $37.20 before trading opened in the U.S, and Tesla, which Musk had proposed using to help fund the Twitter deal, jumping 5%.

tweeted. Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuynMusk’s tweet referenced a May 2 news story about a Twitter regulatory filing that claimed that spam and fake accounts — something that Musk had vowed to crack down on on the platform — accounted for less than 5% of all the 229 million daily active users who are served advertising.

Elon Musk has said his $44BN deal for Twitter is “temporarily on hold” as he awaits details on the social media platform’s revelation that fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users are false or spam accounts.

Naman Ramachandran The Twitter deal is temporarily on hold, billionaire Elon Musk posted on Friday.“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk posted on Twitter.Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022In the tweet, Musk provided a link to a May 2 Reuters article quoting Twitter’s filing on Monday. “Twitter Inc estimated in a filing on Monday that false or spam accounts represented fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users during the first quarter,” the Reuters piece said.Musk has been vocal about cleaning the platform of spam bots.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElon Musk, the mega-billionaire Twitter power user who last week clinched a deal to acquire the company, has floated a new idea for the social network make money.Musk on Tuesday posted that Twitter may impose “a slight cost” for companies or government accounts to use the service, without elaborating.“Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk tweeted. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”To be sure, it’s just Musk spitballing at this point about what may happen once he closes the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

Grimes called out Twitter’s “issues with public mental health” just days after her on-and-off again boyfriend Elon Musk announced he’d reached a deal to purchase the social media platform for $44bn. Canadian singer Grimes speaks with MIT podcast host Lex Fridman on his show, Lex Fridman Podcast.

Grimes is a frequent Twitter user but has said the social media site has ‘issues with public mental health’, just as her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk made his bid to buy the platform.  It was announced last month that Tesla founder Musk, 50, had reached an agreement with Twitter to buy the platform for $44billion (£3.

Chelsea Manning is speaking out.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElon Musk, who’s set to become Twitter’s sole owner, is prohibited from posting tweets that “disparage” the social network.But that didn’t stop Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest person, from criticizing Twitter’s 2020 decision to freeze the account of the New York Post, after the paper published unverified stories about Hunter Biden.“Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” Musk tweeted Tuesday evening.That was in reply to a post by Saagar Enjeti, political commentator and co-host of “Breaking Points,” which linked to a story by Politico describing how Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s head of legal, policy and trust, and safety — the exec who oversaw the company’s suspension of the New York Post — cried during a meeting with staffers discussing Musk’s takeover. In October 2020, Twitter blocked the New York Post’s account for 16 days over the newspaper’s series of disputed stories on Hunter Biden, in what became a flashpoint for Republicans charging Twitter with censorship of conservatives.

Jameela Jamil announced on Twitter Monday that she has issued her "last tweet" on the social media platform.  Her message comes after Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion. Following Twitter's announcement of its new owner, Musk tweeted, "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means."  Jamil, a 36-year-old London native, shared four images of herself holding a puppy.  "Ah he got twitter," Jamil began. "I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet.

Jordan Moreau Director Adam McKay’s Netflix film “Don’t Look Up,” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance and more A-listers, made a splash last winter for how the dark, political comedy eerily mirrored real life. The film tackled issues of climate change and media misinformation, and one fictional tech billionaire character hit even closer to home after Elon Musk and Twitter agreed to a $44 billion deal on Monday.“It’s dangerous,” Blanchett told Variety about Musk’s Twitter takeover, at the Chaplin Award Gala in New York on Monday. “That’s all I have to say, it’s very, very dangerous.”Rylance’s character, Peter Isherwell, an eccentric tech CEO who profits off a comet hurtling toward Earth, was based partly on Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTwitter is now in Elon Musk’s hands. What his successful maneuver to buy the company means for its 200 million-plus users — or for media and entertainment companies that use the platform to reach global audiences — is anything but clear.In the space of three weeks, Musk went from disclosing a 9.2% stake in Twitter to clinching a $44 billion deal for the company on April 25.