The world’s richest man appears to be backing away from his deal to purchase social media platform Twitter. Elon Musk filed papers earlier today that accused Twitter of attempting to breach the terms of last month’s merger agreement by attempting to "obfuscate" the number of fake accounts on the platform.
As reported by Bloomberg, the filing accused Twitter of "actively resisting" and "thwarting his information rights" regarding Twitter’s bot problem. Twitter said that it believes only 5% of its users are fake or bot accounts, while Musk believes that number could be as high as 20%. Musk has been requesting information regarding Twitter’s bot problem since last month when he placed the acquisition "on hold" pending Twitter’s numbers.
However, Twitter has thus far refused to provide Musk with the data he’s asking for, citing privacy and security concerns.
"Twitter’s latest offer to simply provide additional details regarding the company’s own testing methodologies, whether through written materials or verbal explanations, is tantamount to refusing Mr. Musk’s data requests," reads the filing. "Twitter’s effort to characterize it otherwise is merely an attempt to obfuscate and confuse the issue. Mr. Musk has made it clear that he does not believe the company’s lax testing methodologies are adequate so he must conduct his own analysis. The data he has requested is necessary to do so."
The merger, which was agreed to on April 25, provides Twitter shareholders with a share price of $54.20–roughly $15 more than what Twitter shares are trading for as of the time of this writing. Bloomberg speculates that Musk’s filing is a tactic to drive Twitter’s share price down further in an effort to negotiate a better price rather than engage in a costly legal fight.
However, the terms of the merger include a $1 billion breakup fee and also a performance provision that could compel Musk to complete the acquisition if it winds up in court.
Tesla is also taking fire for a recent report that accused the electric carmaker of spying on employees in order to prevent workers from unionizing.
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