Will Elon Musk really buy Twitter?

This Friday, May 13, Elon Musk took everyone by surprise by declaring that “Twitter acquisition was on hold pending details that spam and fake accounts actually account for less than 5% of users.”

Even by assuring shortly after, still by means of a tweet, that the takeover was still relevant, the damage was done. He instilled doubt and the case now seems to be able to fall apart. Some may think it’s the misstep of an out-of-control personality who posted his questions online too quickly. But many elements tend to question the sincerity and spontaneity of this behavior.

Amazing timing

He did not write that he was wondering about the number of fake accounts, but that he was interrupting the deal. He was obviously aware of the thunderclap that this was going to cause.

In addition, this occurs when we thought the matter was finally settled. The board of directors had finally yielded to Elon Musk’s proposal to grab Twitter for $44 billion. And the businessman seemed to have completed his financing plan.

Then, Elon Musk could only now discover this figure of 5% announced at the beginning of May by the company during the publication of its quarterly financial results. It then claimed 229 million monetizable daily users.

Hard to disengage

The statement made on May 13 came just before the opening of Wall Street. In the process, the action logically plunged 25% to end down 9.7%. Reviving speculation on the future of Twitter, this reversal will continue to upset its share price in the days to come, as long as the situation is not clarified.

As the report New York Times, rumors have it that Elon Musk is looking to pull out of the deal because Tesla shares have fallen. However, they represent the major part of the personal fortune of the leader. However, this assumption should be taken with caution.

He signed a commitment and could not withdraw without losing feathers. First, there would be a $1 billion severance fee. But, in addition, Twitter could sue him to force him to pay, still according to the New York Times. Unless he can prove Twitter deliberately lied about the number of fake accounts.

Is he just trying to put pressure?

Elon Musk could also simply have sought to put pressure on the board of directors for various reasons. The first being a possible renegotiation of the purchase price. But again, the game would not be won, because it would have to go before the judge.

The only thing we know for sure is that he has a habit of manipulating the stock market via his Twitter posts. He makes Tesla rise or fall, the Bitcoin and Dogecoin cryptocurrencies according to his interests. Followed by more than 93 million people on the social network, it enjoys considerable influence. And he is fully aware of it.

Moreover, the policeman of the American financial markets, the SEC, is investigating precisely the way in which he rose to the capital of Twitter. He would have declared too late the fact that he had exceeded 5% of shares. This would have allowed him to amass securities before the company’s share price soared.

Has he committed an offence?

Twitter management has not been passive since Elon Musk’s announcement. The latter revealed himself that the legal department had accused him of having violated the terms of the non-disclosure agreement (NDA). He is indeed accused of having revealed the size of the sample used by the company to verify the false accounts.

He had effectively announced that his team was going to create its own random sample of 100 accounts, as Twitter already does.

Faced with all this turmoil, the current boss of Twitter tries to remain stoic. “We must be prepared for all scenarios”, said Parag Agrawal.

Sources: The New York Times, The echoes