Elon Musk Wants to Terminate Twitter Acquisition
- Paul Thurrott
- Jul 09, 2022
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85
Predictably, mercurial billionaire Elon Musk is trying to walk away from his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. As predictably, Twitter plans to sue him to force him to finalize the deal based on the agreed-upon terms.
“Mr. Musk is terminating the Merger Agreement because Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that Agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement, and is likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect,” a regulatory filing reads. “While … Merger Agreement requires Twitter to provide Mr. Musk … all data and information that Mr. Musk requests ‘for any reasonable business purpose related to the consummation of the transaction,’ Twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations.”
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As I’m sure you remember, Musk became Twitter’s biggest shareholder in April and then announced that he wished to acquire the company. In late April, the two parties reached an agreement, with Musk to pay $44 billion for the social media giant.
But in the wake of this announcement, Mr. Musk immediately started casting doubts on his intentions, which marked him as the fool that he is and materially impacted Twitter’s financial viability. He complained about Twitter’s board on, well, Twitter, of course. He complained that the service had too many spam accounts despite the fact that Twitter proved to him that it does not. In a particularly low—but telling—moment, he even tweeted a poop emoji at Twitter. Because that’s how childish and terrible he is.
And now he has filed to break the acquisition agreement and walk away from Twitter. Musk’s underhanded tactics have understandably roiled Twitter’s executive staff and employee base.
“You should refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement,” Twitter general counsel Sean Edgett told employees. “I know this is an uncertain time, and we appreciate your patience and ongoing commitment to the important work we have underway.”
Externally, Twitter provided the following statement.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
So it’s on.
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Conversation 85 comments
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Wolfbyte
Log in to Reply<p>Headline should read like the rest of the article, “Meany Billionaire Bullies Innocent Twitter!”</p><p>You cant be seriously taking Twitters “proof” at face value? Its not like they would have anything to hide! ;)</p>
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JerryH
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>That was to be my comment as well. Twitter provided what "proof"? Nothing that an outsider without direct access to everything could know enough about to determine it was actual proof, that is for sure. That said, Musk’s shenanigans continue unabated and it seems he is coming more unhinged.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Musk was given full access to the "fire hose", so that he had unfettered access to Twitter, to do any analysis he wants, if he believes Twitter’s figures are wrong…</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>And he probably did and said this is a lot worse than I thought.</p>
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Oreo
Log in to Reply<p>Yet, he signed the contract. </p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>You have gone all in with fantasy. The crux of the issue that Musk says he didn’t get the data he needed and Twitter is saying he did …… and you are saying he probably got the data, looked at it and changed his mind about buying…. or in short, you are saying that Elon Musk is lying about why he is backing out.</p>
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warrickdean
Log in to Reply<p>No, he waived his right to due-diligence and went ahead anyway. Then he decided he’d better do some and from what I can tell, Twitter has complied with all his requests (as they’d be nuts not to, given the premium on share price at stake). </p>
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Davor Radman
Log in to Reply<p>So why did he not do this before signing the agreement?</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Because he is an idiot.</p>
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karlinhigh
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Here is the "deal’s off" letter that Musk’s Skadden Arps attorneys filed with the SEC.</p><p><br></p><p>www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418091/000110465922078413/tm2220599d1_ex99-p.htm</p><p><br></p><p><em>…although Twitter has consistently represented in securities filings that “fewer than 5%” of its mDAU are false or spam accounts, based on the information provided by Twitter to date, it appears that Twitter is dramatically understating the proportion of spam and false accounts represented in its mDAU count. Preliminary analysis by Mr. Musk’s advisors of the information provided by Twitter to date causes Mr. Musk to strongly believe that the proportion of false and spam accounts included in the reported mDAU count is wildly higher than 5%.</em></p><p><br></p><p>The letter also says that the "fire hose" access was API rate-limited to the point of being useless.</p><p><br></p><p>And, well, what can any of us know? The Delaware Court of Chancery is supposed to be really good at sorting these things out, since 1792. There’s a reason so many big companies have legal headquarters there, it’s said to be difficult to find any corporate-governance question on which they don’t have precedents.</p><p><br></p><p><em>The Delaware Court of Chancery is widely recognized as the nation’s preeminent forum for the determination of disputes involving the internal affairs of the thousands upon thousands of Delaware corporations and other business entities through which a vast amount of the world’s commercial affairs is conducted. Its unique competence in and exposure to issues of business law are unmatched.</em></p>
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Oreo
Log in to Reply<p>I’m dumb struck by comments like this: Musk is no dummy, he knows that Twitter has a large number of fake user accounts. He is doing all this, because he realized he overpaid and his main assets (his shares in Tesla and Space X) have depreciated over the last few weeks. At the same time, Twitter’s share price has fallen, too, and is worth about half of what Musk offered. And now he wants out. </p><p><br></p><p>Musk, his lawyers, his financiers and Twitter negotiated this quite carefully, and this question, if it came up during negotiations was certainly something that Twitter came clean about. Because if they haven’t, then this could be the end of Twitter. </p><p><br></p><p>IMHO Musk has lost touch with reality a bit. He got off with slaps on the wrist on at least two occasions for pumping-and-dumping (once it was Tesla stock itself when he claimed he had the financing lined up for a stock buyout, the second time was when Musk hyped Bitcoin, something that Tesla poured quite a bit of money into). On numerous occasions, he has also broken promises for product releases (e. g. Tesla’s semi was supposed to go into production by the end of 2020). </p>
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captobie
Log in to Reply<p>I’m still waiting for Elon to provide proof that he’s not actually a bot.</p>
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mcimino
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Twitter provided proof? That’s a good one. </p>
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wbhite
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Exactly. I’m not sure how we’re now at a point where, if a corporation says something is true, we straight up believe it if it suits our own beliefs.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>How is that any different that just belong Musk because ha says something. He has a pretty decent track record of just making shit up. </p>
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SherlockHolmes
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I’m still waiting for Elon to provide proof that he’s an actual human being. For me he is just an a….hole. </p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Since every person has an a hole doesn’t that prove he is a person.</p>
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blue77star
Log in to Reply<p>Twitter all together as company should be terminated.</p>
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SherlockHolmes
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>So should Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple. Where does it end? </p>
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Travelrobert
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p _msthash="20488" _msttexthash="22500634">It ended after Facebook. Dislike Google and Apple as I may, they do provide good services. Microsoft is direly needed at my office at least, so we should by all means keep them around.</p>
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simont
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>The only people happy about this are the law firms who are going to make a killing on lawsuits, appeals etc.</p>
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mattbg
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>The fact that Twitter wants this to go through… do they really not see a better future for their company?</p><p><br></p><p>I know Twitter isn’t a great business, but if being bought by Elon Musk is their best hope for the future then what does that say about Twitter? Especially since they appeared to not want him to buy the company initially.</p><p><br></p><p>Is this just an attempt to get back at Elon Musk or hold him accountable somehow? To secure the break fee? Or have the fundamentals of their business really deteriorated since Musk made his offer such that this is the best offer they are ever going to get and they really do want him to go ahead with the purchase?</p><p><br></p><p>Genuine questions – I am not particular an Elon Musk fan.</p>
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digiguy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Twitter management would be more than happy if the transaction does not go though. They would probably be fired if it does. But shareholders would take a huge loss and so management has to stand by their side (or, again, be fired). </p><p>Many people think of corporations like very small businesses, where the founder, owner and manager is the same person. Not so in the large corporations.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>The board has a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. Given that offer was well above the value of the company (and has only grown) they are obligated to pursue it and would likely be replaced by shareholders if they didn’t. </p>
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Travelrobert
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>"…<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">which marked him as the fool that he is." </span></p><p><br></p><p>I’m not sure we can staple Elon Musk as a fool. Our history of inventors and creators is filled with oddballs and outsiders. I think humanity will look back at Elon Musk as one of them. </p><p><br></p><p>He has, as far as I know, built his companies with iron hard determination and a lot of hard work, overcoming hurdle after hurdle. His companies have driven innovation and most likely sped up the pace of electrifying cars, which might be a factor in hitting climate change brakes. </p><p><br></p><p>Can we label some of his behaviour as erratic or "childish"? Sure. Is he right about everything? No, he seems supersmart in some areas and we as humans seems to believe that equals "smart in all areas". </p><p><br></p><p>But do we need to respect him and some of the work he’s doing? I think we do. </p><p><br></p><p>And a little erratic behaviour is maybe the price we have to pay for faster adoption of electric cars and a sooner mars landing. It might be worth it, not only for the lawyers. </p>
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kweis87
Log in to Reply<p>He’s a petulant, immature, 51 year old troll. He PAYS the "inventors and creators" that his companies rely on for driving the innovation that you talk about. Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean he deserves any respect, just the opposite based on his behavior. People need to quit treating him like royalty and take him for what he is: a spoiled, immature, man-child who inherited his wealth from his family (look into the background of where that wealth came from if you’re curious) and used it to pay the smart people that made him the richest man in the world. It’s past time to call him out for his "erratic behavior" and for Internet fanboys to quit thinking of him as a God.</p>
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WaltC
Log in to Reply<p>That is your personal opinion of Musk, but it has no bearing or relevance on this case. The issue is whether Twitter’s assertion of the number of false accounts it reports to advertisers (or doesn’t report, as the case may be) is accurate. Musk has asked for some specific information on that point, and in the purchase agreement which Twitter accepted and agreed to, the sale is entirely conditional on Twitter providing that information so that Musk could do due diligence on the purchase (of course.) Musk says that Twitter has failed to do so, and Twitter says it will sue to enforce the purchase contract–which has <em>always</em> been conditioned on Twitter providing Musk with the information he wants about the company’s operation. However, if Twitter sues Musk, then it can only win by proving that the information it has supplied Musk is a) legitimate, and b) the information Musk asked for. Lots and lots of people, aside from Musk, have a material interest in following this all the way out. </p>
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rmlounsbury
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I would say that Elon Musk will be remembered primarily for making space travel a more commercial endeavor and not something done only by governments. It is still just a playground for the ultra rich and governments for the foreseeable future. I at least appreciate there are now private commercial entities pushing space travel a long faster and farther than just NASA could have. </p><p><br></p><p>The other being challenging the status quo of the auto industry and being the biggest driver and champion of electric vehicles. In part because of Tesla we’ve seen the big traditional auto manufacturers shift towards electric. </p><p><br></p><p>But Musk the man is really more idealistic financier than inventor. I wouldn’t call him quirky but toxic with his childish takes on issues. He has a history of promising the moon and then just walking away when it no longer suits him. Such as his ridiculous $6 billion dollars to end world hunger that never happened or his wild attempt to save those children trapped in a flooding cave only to call one of the rescuers a pedophile when his help wasn’t wanted. </p><p><br></p><p>Sure, appreciate what he has done with Space X and Tesla. But also acknowledge that Musk is toxic with his celebrity and acts more like a teenager than an adult.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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bennett_cg
Log in to Reply<p>Pure revisionist crap with little factual basis and utterly devoid of essential context. </p><p>SpaceX has the presence it has because of NASA’s commercial space program – without that initial funding and the promise of ongoing contracts, they’d be languishing on test stands alongside Blue Origin. </p><p>Tesla’s founders sold their titles to Musk because, it turns out, converting a Lotus into an EV with entirely bespoke parts is ridiculously expensive. </p><p>He is an ambulatory wallet with just enough curiosity to be willing to buy whatever new toy he’s imagined, and precious little more than that. </p><p>He didn’t invent low-cost launches, or heavy-lift capabilities, or even the notion of hypersonic retroburn re-entry: the engineers in his company made those things reality by virtue of not being beholden to "failure is not an option" doctrine and cost-plus contracts pulling double duty as Congressional jobs programs. </p><p>He didn’t invent the electric automobile. There are 100-year-old electric Studebakers using the same battery chemistry some DIY conversions still rely on. He was the money-man, the Edison to Tesla’s founders, showing up with a checkbook in their moment of need and paperclipping his name to the accomplishments. </p>
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rmlounsbury
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>That is mostly what I said… Hence my line of "more idealistic financier than inventor." I never claim anywhere that Musk is the inventor of anything. Rather the driving force behind Tesla & Space X. He obviously didn’t get there in a vacuum and other forces were at play. Much like the Musk acolytes that like to believe that he did everything to make Tesla and Space X. Those companies were built on the backs of thousands of individuals and the research and development from other places such as NASA/JPL.</p><p><br></p><p>To be clear I think Musk is a dumpster fire of a human and gets far too much praise for his "contributions" to humanity. </p>
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mikegalos
Log in to Reply<p>Every new technology gets a person who loves being the face of the technology even though they didn’t actually do anything themselves.</p><p><br></p><p>For electrification it was Thomas Edison.</p><p>For the automobile it was Henry Ford.</p><p>For the personal computer it was Steve Jobs.</p><p>For electric cars and space privatization it’s Elon Musk.</p><p><br></p><p>The people inside the industries know they’re just hucksters but the public loves having a face to put on the tech and the more outrageous the better.</p>
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jaylesh27
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Funding public transportation, building bike lanes, solar panels + wind farms, less suburban sprawl – all of that would help more with climate change than switching to electric cars. Electric cars are here to save the auto industry, not the planet.</p>
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me
Log in to Reply<p>All he’s doing is going to get a better price. he’ll still end up with twitter. </p>
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cjhawkins3rd
Log in to Reply<p>Agree. Market’s down across the board.</p>
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jaylesh27
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>How is Elon reneging on the deal and then twitter suing him to stick to the terms of the agreement going to get him a better deal?</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>He wins the lawsuit and buys Twitter out of bankruptcy when the recession is over.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>Sooo.. Twitter is not in bankruptcy nor are they in danger of being in bankruptcy. Maybe actually look at their financials prior to delving into the world of fantasy? The world of facts is a glorious place. </p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Yes, but it is not populated by Trump supporters.</p>
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owenm
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Reuters is pointing out the odds are greatly in Twitter’s favour. Musk’s arguement appears weak and it’s very unlikely he will prevail by claiming a MAE</p><p><br></p><p>https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-has-legal-edge-deal-dispute-with-musk-2022-07-09/</p>
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digiguy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I hope the transaction does not go though. Even just for the fact that he wants to reenable Trump’s twitter account (regardless of whether Trump would use it again or not)</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>And I hope now that Musk dropped out Trump buys Twitter. He could raise the money from conservatives tired of being censored on social media. I don’t know how many times people have been locked out of their account for something that is either a mistake or turns out to be true.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>i doubt he could raise the money. Twitter looses money currently and raising 40+ billion is a daunting task. Further, extremists (you mistakenly said conservatives) have social media that allows them to say whatever. There is Truth Social, GETTR, Gab and Parlor to name a few. The problem is they are kinda belly flops. Why? Because the are populated with extremists that people that people aren’t interested in listening to. So Trump buying Twitter would just create another space where extremists would blather on and general population avoided. Then when it failed the extremists would come up with some wacky conspiracy theory about how they are being censored. </p><p><br></p><p>it would be a glorious spectacle but entirely unproductive. </p>
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jaylesh27
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Elon is no fool, when has he ever not followed through on a promise?</p><p>/s, if it wasn’t clear</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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reservoirmike
Log in to Reply<p>Or he’s playing 4D chess. If Twitter has not provided the requested info, taking him to court opens them up to legal discovery. Musk (and the rest of the world) then gets to see everything, which may have been his plan all along.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>Rather than a conspiracy theory why not the obvious. Musk never got the financial backing to buy twitter and money he had lined up was backed by his ownership of Tesla stock. Since his offer Tesla and Twitter have both tanked. So, he is now in the situation of trying to pay a wildly inflated price with less collateral to do so. No one in their right might is giving him the money to buy Twitter at the price he agreed to. </p>
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Jogy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Doesn’t the presumption of innocence apply here? Isn’t is Musk who should provide serious proof for his accusations that Twitter is lying?</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>That’s what the court case is going to be about.</p>
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Jogy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Probably. So let’s wait and see.</p>
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jchampeau
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Elon Musk is many things. Divisive. Obnoxious. Tasteless. Sometimes abhorrent. But to call the serial entrepreneur who started PayPal and SpaceX and owns enough of Tesla to make him the world’s richest man is no fool.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Yet he does foolish things on a weekly, if not more often, basis.</p><p><br></p><p>He foolishly ignored SEC rules on his own businesses and made illegal announcements (tweets), was fined and had to have a lawyer approve all future tweets, which he foolishly seems to have ignored.</p><p><br></p><p>He foolishly ignored SEC rules on registering his stock holdings in Twitter, once they got to the required size for registration and continued buying stock after that point, which was illegal. I would call that foolish.</p><p><br></p><p>He foolishly waived the right to due diligence on the Twitter take over, then started complaining about things that would fall under due diligence.</p><p><br></p><p>His email to staff about being on site for at least 40 hours a week, in the face of the world looking at remote working going forward, and losing a lot of staff as a result, seems foolish.</p><p><br></p><p>He might have been very successful in his previous businesses, but Tesla is a shambles and Musk is turning into an embarrassment. My boss has a Tesla S, a nice car, on the face of it, but it is a high priced car and the fit and finish is appalling and not something I would accept on a vehicle costing a tenth of what the Tesla cost. The door panels aren’t correctly aligned, the paintwork had "orange peel", something I sent my Ford Escort back to the dealer for 30 years ago to be put right, but Tesla just shrugged its shoulders.</p><p><br></p><p>It continually fails to deliver on promises – such as the $10K fully automated driving option, which was supposed to come within a year, but a couple of years later, it has still not been delivered – even the so-called FSD needs regular human intervention and the drivers seat cannot be left empty (a prerequisite for FSD).</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>He didn’t start PayPal and net worth is entirely irrelevant. He is mostly just a bullshit artist that people buy into is shtick isn’t a testament to his intellect but rather a statement about how dumb people can actually be. </p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Do you honestly think electric cars and space flight would be where they are today without him? I don’t. People like him have weird personalities. Look at Howard Hues for an example.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>Yeah, I do. It’s not like he started Tesla and I don’t think he was uniquely qualified to guide the company into mass marking cars. </p><p><br></p><p>On the space side, the private sector is a fairly competitive.</p><p><br></p><p>What he has excelled at is talking up his ventures and if people never pull back the curtain they never realize he is blowing smoke. Like how Tesla has been selling the fully automated self driving car upgrade for like 10 years but has yet to release it. How his fleet of self driving taxis that were going to come out in 2020 …. Have you seen one? Right, they don’t exist. </p><p><br></p><p>People lap up this guy’s bullshit, never bother to see if he delivers and talk about amazing he is for thing that never actually happen. </p><p><br></p><p>The cult of Elon is sad. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Howard Hues? The man of many colors?</p><p>Or are you talking about Howard Hughes?</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Howard Hughes</p>
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Davor Radman
Log in to Reply<p>Why wouldn’t they be close to where they are?</p><p>When you say "where they are", do you mean tech? All of the other big brands, and many smaller ones are up there already.</p><p>The driver for electrification has been political/environmental/financial, not because Tesla in particular has been that great to cause a mind change.</p><p><br></p><p>Where is space flight? Sure, he can get small stuff up there cheaper, but is this really a good net thing? All the really important stuff would still end up there, and we would have les garbage, like Starlink, if there was no Space X.</p><p><br></p>
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pixymisa
Log in to Reply<p>Twitter hasn’t proved anything, neither publicly nor privately.</p><p><br></p><p>If you look at their public announcements on bot rates, they are very carefully bracketed with weasel words, and their cited methodology amounts to "we took a look and picked a number".</p><p><br></p><p>If it goes to court, discovery will be a bitch, because Musk will be able to compel Twitter to cough up all those details they’ve been hedging on.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>Interesting that you know what Twitter has and hasn’t done in private. That would make you a senior executive at Twitter or Elon Musk…. I’m totally curious which one it is. </p>
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dietzeld
Log in to Reply<p>Paul has thankfully said what needed to be said regarding Musk. Like all cult leaders, Musk is a deeply flawed human being who stands on the shoulders of others to manipulate the gullible. He is dangerous. As an erratic egomaniac and non-fascist he should step down from Tesla and allow competent engineers lead the company. </p>
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phil_adcock
Log in to Reply<p>I’m actually just sitting by idly waiting to see how this plays out. Honestly, assuming what Elon is saying is probably correct and Twitter has been making the bot number seem much lower than it actually is to boost their numbers. I see this going to court, discovery showing things in Elon’s favor and Elon agreeing to buy twitter at a much lower valuation that more closely matches it’s actual value and not it’s over inflated value Elon agreed to at the start of the deal.</p>
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yaddamaster
Log in to Reply<p>It seems that Paul is slaming Elon for being brash, impulsive, saying things in the moment, willing to embrace chaos theory to see if anything sticks.</p><p>So kind of like throwing the word fool around. I guess Paul would know.</p><p><br></p><p>I’m no Musk sycophant. But Paul’s unecessary commentary without any elaboration while merely regurgitating days old information seems foolish.</p><p><br></p><p>Seriously – how incredibly petty. A man who has managed to make a modest living off commenting off other people’s work is attacking someone who has created not just one but many different products.</p><p><br></p><p>Stop being petty. I used to check this site out for its insightful analysis. Lately it seems you’re just mailing it in.</p>
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BillyMutt
Log in to Reply<p>My sentiments exactly. </p><p><br></p><p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He complained that the service had too many spam accounts despite the fact that Twitter proved to him that it does not". What? Twitter did not prove anything, which makes this article seem like a petulant personal attack without any factual basis. </span></p><p><br></p><p>Please stick to reporting on Windows and what not. Spreading mis(dis)information is not helping.</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I hope Trump buys Twitter now just to see the meltdown on the left.</p>
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Jogy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Yes, they will melt down with laughter, when the great businessman Trump will bankrupt it, just like so many of his other businesses.</p><p><br></p><p>Besides, where will he get the money? Deutsche Bank or other banks won’t lend him any. </p><p><br></p><p>But, keep on dreaming.</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>There are plenty of rich people in the GOP that would fund him to do that.</p>
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Jogy
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Why would they want to lose their money?</p>
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Daekar
Log in to Reply<p>I don’t really have an opinion on the Twitter acquisition, other than I would prefer to see Twitter just shut down entirely… but it’s amazing to me how much people love to hate Elon. Liberals live him because he’s a climate champion, and hate him because he’s rich and he doesn’t toe the party line on everything the way establishment wealthy are supposed to. Conservatives like him because he’s pushed the boundaries of several industries with his money and has the balls to just try things that other people wouldn’t. They hate him because he promises things he can’t deliver and can’t shut the heck up on social media. </p><p><br></p><p>All I can say is, he may not have all the answers, but he’s disruptive enough to be a catalyst for change, and he defies expectations of all sorts. Love him or hate him, the history books will remember him but not you and not me. </p>
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SvenJ
Log in to Reply<p>'<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">can’t shut the heck up on social media’ seems to be a hallmark of conservatives these days, though liberals are giving them some stiff competition.</span></p>
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owenm
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>As I said previously, Musk is a Billionaire man-child desperate to make people like him. The Twitter purchase was always about his ego, nothing more, and it is backfired spectactularly. With this aquisition failure, his increasingly unhinged tweets and remarks, and his move toward backing the GOP, the ongoing complaints about working conditions at Tesla; the only thing he’s managed to achieve is to alienation of his most loyal fanbase. "</p><p><br></p><p>Thankyou to those hard working engineers for the rocketships and electric cars. However, Elon the man always was, and always will be nothing more than ego and marketting spin. </p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Elon waived due diligence when he signed the deal according to CNBC. In that case, he doesn’t have a case.</p>
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pixymisa
Log in to Reply<p>He does if Twitter lied.</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Especially if those lies are in SEC filings.</p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>No. Waiving due diligence means that he gave up his option to look into the company’s business. Sort of like buying a used car without taking it to a competent mechanic and then for a good test drive.</p><p>This case will depend only on the purchase contract. Nothing else is relevant.</p>
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mefree
Log in to Reply<p>Musk wants this to go to court, because that forces Twitter to come clean on the actual bot numbers, which is what he’s been asking for all along. It’s checkmate no matter what for Twitter.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>But he signed a contract saying he didn’t want those numbers… Now he trying to renege on the deal, because he wasn’t given information he stated he didn’t need, in order to close the deal.</p>
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abiyoya
Log in to Reply<p>Unfortunate that Paul uses his "Home for Tech Enthusiasts: News, Reviews & Analysis" soapbox to vent his strong dislike towards Musk. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This tirade (along with the users’ comments) are as unwelcomed as they are mostly </span>gratuitous cheap shots about someone’s personality (even if he is the CEO of a Tech company). There are unfortunately enough <em>us against them </em>websites and forums.</p><p><br></p><p>Paul, we will appreciate if you stick to what you do best: offer sharp, savvy and insightful commentary on technology.</p>
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gerald_michels
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Lets not single out Musk for hi-jinks. Jobs, Gates, Zukerberg are all strange-acting people. I will criticize Musk AFTER I see Twitter data on fake accounts. Its like buying a fleet of vans and taking the manufacturer’s word that each one has four tires only to find three of four are ‘get me homes.’ Kinda’ true. Jerry Michels</p>
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videosavant
Log in to Reply<p>Twitter deceives daily in how it "moderates" content.</p><p><br></p><p>It is perfectly reasonable that Twitter has been lying about the number of bona fide accounts, because it has always gotten away with it.</p>
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WaltC
Log in to Reply<p>I will be very surprised if Twitter sues because then Twitter will have to disprove Musk’s assertions that Twitter did not fulfill the terms of the original purchase/Merger agreement, and that Twitter remains in breach. The purchase, governed by the terms of the agreement between Musk and Twitter, was always conditional upon that information being supplied to Musk. Musk states that Twitter did not fulfill its part of the agreement. Ironically, the only way that Twitter can win is to supply the information the agreement calls for that Musk claims Twitter did not provide. </p><p><br></p><p>If Twitter management sues Musk to enforce the purchase agreement, then Twitter will have to prove that it did supply the information Musk asked for, and that Musk, not Twitter, is in breach of the purchase agreement. Catch 22 for Twitter, if it has been less than candid, both with Musk and the Twitter stockholders, on the bot situation. Musk has put Twitter management on the hot seat, no question about it.</p>
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Stabitha.Christie
Log in to Reply<p>That isn’t how that works. Musk has said Twitter didn’t provide the data he needed and entitled to breach the contract. It is up to Musk to prove Twitter has not upheld its end of the deal since he is the one that wants out. </p>
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jmountjoy
Log in to Reply<p>The guy is a self absorbed, narcissistic douche. The day the media stops reporting on every fart, cough and sniffle that he generates cannot come soon enough. Fin.</p>
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jmountjoy
Log in to Reply<p>He has deliberately defied stock exchange laws in the past, no doubt to his own immense benefit. I’d be curious to know what his ownership of stocks looked like before and after each statement. First his “intention” to buy Twitter and then this alleged reneging on the deal. I’d bet next month’s pay he comes out on top financially. Kudos for the business acumen, for sure, but this just underscores the need for Wall Street and the general public to ignore whatever the asshat says. </p>
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jmountjoy
Log in to Reply<p>I don’t wish ill on many people. Musk falls into that elite group.</p>
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LT1 Z51
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I can’t understand why anyone would defend Elon Musk. Clearly many of the Muskcovites don’t know what Due Dillagence is or what waving it is. They also don’t believe in the rule of law (Elon has thumbed his nose at the SEC more times than we can count), and they also don’t understand for every crazy rich billionaire there are 100’s if not 1000’s of others who are just as crazy who had just as many radical ideas who are penniless and live in a gutter.</p><p><br></p><p>Being a billionaire doesn’t involve a high level of intelligence. It involves loose moral values (so you can take advantage of others), long hours (because no one will work your idea more than you), money (so you can fun your idea), charisma (so you can sell your idea to others, especially gullible people), and luck (need to be in the right place at the right time). The first one (loose moral values) cannot be stressed enough. If you value other humans you can’t have the arrogance and the disregard to be successful.</p><p><br></p><p>Basically you’re a megalomaniac.</p>
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red.radar
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I think this is a simple issue. Buyers remorse. </p><p><br></p><p>He is looking for a way out and he may or may not have a case. We will see what the courts say. </p><p><br></p><p>I am curious why Twitter is forcing the sale rather than accepting the 1 Billion breakup fee. Makes you think twitter is desperate for the sale knowing their future is not going to be any brighter</p>