(FreedomBeacon.com)- On Friday, Elon Musk announced that he has temporarily put his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on hold while he waits for the social media company to provide data on the number of fake accounts on the platform.
Last month, Twitter reported that in the first quarter of 2022, less than 5 percent of its active daily users were fake accounts. This percentage is in line with previous disclosures from the company.
Musk is seeking information that supports this calculation. He said his team would conduct a “random sample of 100 followers” and invited other Twitter users to do the same thing and “see what they discover.”
Musk tweeted that he had initially “relied on the accuracy of Twitter’s public filings,” but did not explain what led him to question it now.
Under the terms of the deal reached between the company and Musk, he is entitled to request additional information on Twitter’s operations.
According to Reuters, sources within the company were offended by Musk’s remarks about fake accounts, calling them “disparaging” and a violation of the terms of their agreement. However, Twitter is not planning any immediate action against the Telsa CEO over the comments.
When news of the temporary hold broke on Friday, Twitter shares initially plunged 10 percent in morning trading.
But even before Musk announced the hold, Twitter’s share price had been selling for less than the $54.20 per share Musk has offered, leaving some traders to suspect the buyout may not go through.
Some traders believe Musk’s request for information on fake accounts may just be a pretext for him to reject the deal entirely.
However, in a later follow-up tweet, the Telsa CEO said that he remains “committed to acquisition.”
The percentage of bot accounts is a key statistic. If the percentage is higher than expected, it could impact Twitter’s ability to increase advertising revenue.
