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Elon Musk: Twitter deal 'temporarily on hold' over estimates of spam accounts

 2 years ago
source link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-twitter-deal-temporarily-112821909.html
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Elon Musk: Twitter deal 'temporarily on hold' over estimates of spam accounts

Brett Molina, USA TODAY
Fri, May 13, 2022, 11:28 PM·2 min read

Elon Musk said his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter is "temporarily on hold."

In a tweet posted Friday, the Tesla and SpaceX founder cited spam or fake accounts on the social media platform, pointing to a Reuters report from earlier this month on Twitter estimating less than 5% of its accounts are fake.

"Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users," wrote Musk.

Shares of Twitter plunged more than 10% in morning trading Friday.

In a subsequent tweet, the billionaire said he remained "committed to acquisition."

Musk’s tweet comes a day after the social media company fired two of its top managers. Twitter said the company is pausing most hiring, except for critical roles, and is “pulling back on non-labor costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient.”

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Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022

Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers.
Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers.

The tweet could generate a negative reaction from Wall Street, viewing it as either a way for Musk to get out of buying Twitter or looking to negotiate for a lower price, said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.

"The nature of Musk creating so much uncertainty in a tweet (and not a filing) is very troubling," Ives wrote in an investor note Friday.

Getting rid of spam and fake accounts was one of Musk's priorities when he reached a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk has also been critical of how Twitter moderates content. The deal is expected to close later this year.

Earlier this week, during an interview with The Financial Times, Musk said if the deal is approved, he would allow former President Donald Trump to return to the platform after he was permanently banned following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.


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