For many weeks, Tesla founder Elon Musk seemed set to purchase Twitter.
Musk announced that he’d buy out the website and refashion it as a pro-free speech platform. For some time, there was even talk about the business mogul restoring accounts that were previously banned for political reasons.
However, as the merger agreement went through various steps, spam bots became an issue. Twitter claimed that fewer than 5% of its users are spam bots; meanwhile, Musk and his legal team weren’t able to substantiate this.
Late last week, Musk filed through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discontinue the $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter. Now, former President Trump is weighing in on the matter, per Breitbart News.
Trump on the Failed Merger Agreement
Since Musk backed out and accused Twitter of misleading reports about the website, Twitter has responded by pledging to sue Musk and ensure the merger finishes.
According to Trump, however, he never really believed the purchase would pan out. The former president told Breitbart that Twitter has an abundance of fake accounts and the $44 billion that Musk was going to pay for it is “exorbitant.”
"Twitter has been claiming < 5% fake/spam accounts, but, it is 4-5x that number. It's big deal. It's like, I agree to buy your house, you say the house has less than 5% termites but if it turns out it's 90% termites. It's not the same house" — @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/fbLMXkHMIN
— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) July 9, 2022
Trump likewise raised questions about whether or not the merger agreement is as “iron clad” as Twitter wants to make out.
After questioning what guidelines Twitter is using to define this deal as “iron-clad,” the former president predicted that since Musk already submitted a $1 billion deposit on the merger, there’s going to be a huge legal fight over the issue.
Possible Scenarios
At this time, Elon Musk seems to be going with the argument that because Twitter wasn’t completely honest about its spam bots, the merger is null and void. This would directly lead to the notion that a deal made on false pretenses is no longer applicable.
Twitter, meanwhile, would be left to prove that its spam bot count is, in fact, what the company claimed it is. Musk’s declaration that Twitter has more spam bots than it’s let on comes after reviews from members of his team.
Twitter said it would pursue legal action after Elon Musk canceled his $44 billion deal to buy the social-media company over an alleged breach of the merger agreement https://t.co/sYHYV4Erbg pic.twitter.com/XpPuP6wwjJ
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 9, 2022
Thus far, neither side appears poised to back down or concede to the other. Twitter, while initially reticent about Musk’s buy-out offer, eventually got on board with it. Now, the company is very eager for the $44 billion deal to pass.
Musk, on the other hand, believes because Twitter’s percentage of spam bots allegedly isn’t what the company claimed, the purchase of the company wouldn’t be fair.
Time will determine how litigation plays out and which side walks away from this as the winner.
Do you think Donald Trump’s view on the now contested agreement between Elon Musk and Twitter is correct? You’re invited to share your thoughts on the matter in the comments area.
