With issues bordering on the exact number of fake accounts on Twitter yet to be completely resolved, Elon Musk might be considering pulling away from taking over the micro-blogging platform. This move will cost him a whopping $1b termination fee.
It was widely reported when Tesla’s Chief agreed to buy out Twitter in a mouth-watering deal for $44 billion last month, an acquisition that has been backed by 19 equity investors, TechEconomy reported.
These investors who are believed to be closed allies contributed $7.14 billion as part of the moves to finalize the deal. However, further moves have been put on hold after Musk demanded that Twitter give a proper explanation of the exact number of fake accounts on the platform.
He said the agreed deal would not progress until the firm showed proof that only a small proportion of its users were fake.
Fake or spam accounts, known as bot accounts, are automated and not run by human users. They may use the reply function or direct messages to send adverts or scams to users or represent attempts to influence public discourse by tweeting political propaganda.
“My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does,” the world’s richest man tweeted on Tuesday.
Should Musk finally decide to walk away from the deal; It will cost him a $1bn break fee payable to Twitter. Tesla Chief may also consider renegotiating to lower the already agreed fee of $44 billion.
Musk said he believes 20 percent of Twitter accounts are fake or spam, a number that needs to be significantly reduced and could be the reasoning behind his thirst for a renegotiation of terms.
However, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, has maintained in a series of tweets explaining his company’s effort to fight bots and how it has consistently estimated that less than 5% of Twitter accounts are fake
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