Reports say that Elon Musk’s team has stopped discussions surrounding funding as the Tesla CEO raises concerns regarding spam account figures.
On April 25, Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s bid to buy the social media platform for a whopping $44 Billion. This decision came after Musk’s frequent criticisms of the platform for its moderation policies, claiming it unfairly censors non-mainstream perspectives.
The world’s richest man has previously expressed misgivings and even implied he could walk away from the deal over concerns about what he believes is an abundance of fake accounts. Of course, when the news that Musk’s deal to buy the social media giant is in danger, Twitter’s shares dropped by about 4 percent.
Despite being given access to internal data, Musk has apparently not been able to pin down a solid percentage of spam accounts.
“The Twitter soap opera is clearly coming to some sort of finale over the coming months as Musk makes the decision to stay (with a lower price) or go,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.
During the Qatar Economic Forum last month, Musk said that his Twitter purchase remained held up by “very significant” questions about the number of fake users on the social network.
The Tesla car and SpaceX exploration chief also raised questions about Twitter’s debt. The chances of Musk buying Twitter as originally negotiated are slim, Ives said. Wedbush set the chance of the deal happening at a lower price at 60 percent, leaving open the door to the possibility Musk will try to walk away with only paying a required $1 billion breakup fee.
Musk’s past comments have created a stir in the media, with his commitment to the deal being doubted. An anonymous source from his team was quoted as saying that the team is “preparing for a change in direction.”
This “change in direction” is the reason that Twitter laid off over a hundred employees—nearly 30 percent of its talent acquisition team— ahead of Musk’s takeover.
The layoff spree took place mere weeks after the Tesla CEO said that Twitter needs to get healthy, hinting at possible layoffs. Twitter had previously announced a hiring freeze to cut costs as the company struggles to finalise its acquisition by Musk.
“Right now costs exceed revenue,” Musk told employees when asked about the possibility of layoffs during an internal Q&A, as reported by The Verge.
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