SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has declared his intention to pull out of his proposed $44 billion deal to take over the far-left social network Twitter, following months of back-and-forth between Musk and the company’s board.
In a filing, lawyers representing Musk said the pullout was due to Twitter failing to respond to requests for information on the number of bot and spam accounts on the platform, Reuters reports. Twitter shares fell six percent on the news.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal (Google Cloud/YouTube)
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Musk initially announced his intention to buy the platform in April, motivated by what he said were disagreements with the company’s draconian content moderation practices, kicking off one of the most highly publicized corporate takeover attempts in recent memory.
Declaring himself a “free speech absolutist,” Musk said he intended to implement a more free speech friendly content moderation policy, including the restoration of Donald Trump’s account.
After some opposition from some members, including a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, the Twitter board eventually accepted Musk’s offer in a unanimous decision.
H0wever, the deal quickly ran into difficulties, with a major dispute arising between Musk and the Twitter board over the number of bot accounts on the platform.
As Breitbart News reported earlier today, sources recently told the Washington Post that Musk’s team believed they could not verify the platform’s bot numbers.
Via Breitbart News:
Elon Musk’s deal to purchase Twitter is reportedly in danger of falling apart after Musk’s team concluded that Twitter’s figures on spam accounts are not verifiable, according to sources close to the negotiation.
The Washington Post reports that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s deal to purchase Twitter is in danger of falling through as sources say that his team has concluded that Twitter’s figures on bot and spam accounts are not verifiable. Musk’s team has reportedly stopped engaging in certain discussions around funding for the $44 billion deal, including with one group named as a likely backer of the deal.
The deal was further complicated by the plummeting price of tech stocks, which occurred after Musk’s $44 billion offer. Had the billionaire made his offer after the broad decline in Silicon Valley’s fortunes, he likely could have pitched a significantly lower price.
The decline also hit the price of Tesla, which plummeted by nearly 30 percent in April, leading Tesla fans to urge Musk to walk away from the Twitter deal and focus on the electric vehicle company.
The apparent failure of the deal will come as a relief to leftists and other defenders of social media censorship, who went into tailspins of rage over the prospect of a “free speech absolutist” who reads Breitbart News articles taking ownership of Twitter.
Despite Musk’s apparent intent to walk away from the deal, it may not be entirely over, as the Twitter board, which did accept the deal, could still sue Musk to complete the takeover.
In a tweet, Bret Taylor, chairman of the Twitter board, said the company is still committed to closing the deal and would pursue legal action to enforce the original agreement.
The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) July 8, 2022
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.
