Elon Musk says he has the “right to terminate” his Twitter takeover if the social media company is not more forthcoming on details about its user base and the number of spam accounts.
Musk’s threat, which was communicated via a letter sent to Twitter’s legal team on Monday, comes six weeks after he agreed a shock $44bn deal to purchase the social media giant outright.
Since then, Musk and Twitter have been at loggerheads about fake accounts, with the former claiming that there are considerably more than the official number, which stands at around 5% of daily users.
Musk’s lawyer, Mike Ringler, said Musk is “clearly entitled” to measure the number of spam accounts himself as part of the process that will see Twitter’s business transfer to his ownership.
The letter continues: “Based on Twitter’s behaviour to date, and the company’s latest correspondence in particular, Mr Musk believes the company is actively resisting and thwarting his information rights.”
It concludes that Musk now has the right to walk away from the merger agreement, based on what he perceives to be a breach of Twitter’s obligations.
However, Twitter sees things differently and stated that it “has and will” continue to work with Musk and share information to ensure the deal closes as planned.
The latest twist in the saga follows recent claims by Musk that the deal was “on hold” due to the spam bot dispute.
The long-running tensions are a world away from the excitement that Musk initially expressed after his offer was accepted, when he vowed to make Twitter “better” and outlined his ambitious plans.
Analysts believe Musk’s latest complaints are a calculated move to try to either negotiate the deal at a lower price or pull out entirely, which would entail a $1bn break-up fee.
