Elon Musk says Twitter deal can’t move forward till the company is clearer about fake accounts

Elon Musk said in a tweet early Tuesday that his $44 billion bid to acquire Twitter can’t move forward until the company proves spam/fake accounts make up fewer than 5% of its users. 

“Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does,” Musk said. He said his offer “was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.”

20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.

My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.

Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.

This deal cannot move forward until he does.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2022

Last week, Musk announced that his $44 billion Twitter buyout is “temporarily on hold” pending further details on the number of spam accounts on the platform. At that time, he said he is still committed to the acquisition. 

Still committed to acquisition

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022