Musk: Twitter deal should go ahead if it provides real accounts proof
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Elon Musk seems willing to finish Twitter buyout under original terms, but under one condition.
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Tesla owner and billionaire Elon Musk
Elon Musk said that if Twitter Inc. is able to provide its method of sampling 100 accounts and how it verified that the accounts are real, the $44 billion deal to buy the company should proceed in accordance with its original terms.
"However, if it turns out that their SEC filings are materially false, then it should not," Musk tweeted early on Saturday.
While a Twitter user asked whether the US SEC was probing "dubious claims" by the company, Musk responded, "Good question, why aren't they?"
When contacted by Reuters, Twitter declined to comment on the tweet.
On Thursday, the social media giant rejected the billionaire's claims in court that he had valid reasons to back out of a $44 billion deal to purchase the platform.
"According to Musk, he — the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers — was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement. That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds," the filing released by Twitter on Thursday said.
Last month, Twitter sued Musk in an attempt to coerce him to complete the deal. Twitter's Thursday filing comes in response to Musk's counter lawsuit, which the billionaire filed under seal last week and will be made public on Friday. Twitter called his exit strategy "a model of hypocrisy" in July.
The back-and-forth started after Musk claimed Twitter was not dealing with spam bots on the platform as it should, which was his alleged reason for abandoning the deal.
Twitter, in response, argued that spam bots make up less than 5% of the total 200 million users. Musk insisted that the number was higher, pointing his finger at Twitter for its lack of transparency about the problem.
The company then accused Musk of producing illusions about the issue to escape the deal without penalty: “The counterclaims are a made-for-litigation tale that is contradicted by the evidence and common sense,” Twitter wrote, according to legal documents obtained by Reuters.
“Musk invents representations Twitter never made and then tries to wield, selectively, the extensive confidential data Twitter provided him to conjure a breach of those purported representations.”
The Twitter response also mentioned Musk accusing the company of "stonewalling" his information requests, constituting a breach of their agreement, which it denied by stating that information was provided upon request.
In April, Musk agreed to buy Twitter, offering $54.20 a share. He promised to loosen the company's policing of content and eliminate fake accounts. In July, he decided to back out of the deal, igniting a Twitter-Musk drama.
Depending on who wins the case, either Musk or Twitter will be entitled to receiving a breakup fee if the other party is found responsible for the failed agreement.
