Elon Musk His on friday twitter The transaction will be suspended until he receives detailed information about the number of fake accounts on the social media platform.
In a follow-up tweet about two hours later, Musk added, “We’re still working on an acquisition.”
Twitter’s share price plummeted 18% in pre-market transactions after the first announcement, but reduced losses after the second tweet. Stocks fell 9.7%. A spokesperson for a social media company did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Tesla CEO mask Announced last month He intends to buy Twitter for $ 44 billion and previously tweeted that one of his main priorities is to remove “spambots” from the platform.
Even before the announcement on Friday, the market value of the company It is $ 9 billion below the offer price due to trading concerns.
Musk, Will be the temporary CEO of Twitter As the transaction progresses, you will have to pay a $ 1 billion split fee He chooses to leave.. Musk is worth over $ 220 billion.
In a filing earlier this month, Twitter estimated that less than 5% of monetizable daily active users in the first quarter were bots or spam accounts.
Musk, the wealthiest person in the world on paper, told the company before continuing the deal, which was partially funded by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. I would like you to confirm.
A San Francisco-based social media company said in a filing that it had 229 million users who were advertised in the first quarter.
on tuesday, Mask said He said he would lift the ban on Twitter’s former president Donald Trump If he takes over the company.
“Permanent bans are very rare and should actually be booked for bots, or fraudulent, spam accounts … I think it wasn’t right to ban Donald Trump.” Said The future of FT live car conferences.. “I think it was a mistake because it alienated most of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump having no say.”
Earlier this month Bill Gates warned That the mask can “worse” Twitter. At the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit, Gates expressed concern about the dissemination of false information on social media platforms, while it was unclear how Musk would change Twitter if it took ownership.
Gates further questioned what Musk’s Twitter goals were and whether his willingness to promote free speech made sense. “What is his goal about what it will end up with? Is it consistent with this notion that less extreme falsehoods spread so rapidly? [and] Strange conspiracy theory? Does he share that goal? “Gates said.
Before Musk bids to buy Twitter completely, he Disclosure failed Over 9% stake in the company within the mandatory 10-day period of the SEC.
Reported information The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the timing of mask disclosure. Bloomberg later said Many experts do not expect this transaction to raise antitrust concerns, but the FTC is considering the acquisition itself individually.
The FTC did not disclose the ongoing investigation, and an FTC spokesman declined to comment.
Tesla’s share price rose nearly 7% in pre-market trading on Friday.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and market analyst at Hargreaves Landsdown, said she was likely to ask if fake accounts were the real reason behind this delayed tactic.
“The $ 44 billion price tag is huge and it may be a strategy to get back the amount he’s ready to pay to get the platform,” she said in a statement.
— — Additional reports by CNBC’s Lauren Finer.
