NEW YORK, United States —
Elon Musk
threatened Monday to withdraw his bid to buy Twitter, accusing it of failing to
provide data on fake accounts, in the latest twist in the Tesla billionaire's
push to acquire the social network.
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Twitter has breached its "obligations
under the merger agreement and Mr. Musk reserves ... his right not to
consummate the transaction," according to a document filed with securities
regulators.
The filing marks an escalation of Musk's
prior statements that have highlighted fake accounts as a threat to his
proposed $44 billion deal to take over Twitter.
The mercurial Musk agreed a deal in late
April to purchase Twitter.
But the proposed sale has stoked protest
from critics who warn his stewardship will embolden hate groups and
disinformation campaigns.
US securities regulators have also pressed
Musk for an explanation of an apparent delay in reporting his
Twitter stock
buys.
Musk began making significant noise about
fake accounts in mid-May, saying on Twitter he could walk away from the
transaction if his concerns were not addressed.
Some observers have seen Musk's questioning
of Twitter bots as a means to end the takeover process, or to pressure Twitter
into lowering the price.
Musk's latest statement on bots signifies he
is "looking to walk away from deal," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said
Monday on Twitter, noting that there is a $1 billion breakup fee in the
Twitter-Musk transaction.
"We continue to believe that Elon is
playing hard ball... to gain leverage/options to either reduce his offer price
or indeed completely walk away if he gets cold feet," said CFRA Research's
Angelo Zino.
Twitter on Monday defended its
responsiveness and vowed to complete the deal.
"Twitter has and will continue to
cooperatively share information with Mr. Musk," a spokesperson said.
"We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement at
the agreed price and terms."
Counting bots
Musk has said that the real number of bots
may be four times higher than Twitter estimates.
Bots can be used on social media to spread
false news or create a distorted impression of how widely information is being
consumed and shared.
Twitter chief executive
Parag Agrawal has
said that fewer than five percent of accounts active on any given day at
Twitter are bots, but that analysis cannot be replicated externally due to the
need to keep user data private.
But Musk has been dismissive of Twitter's
responses and reiterated that stance in Monday's filing.
Musk's attorney, Mike Ringler, said Twitter
had failed to respond to Musk's valid inquiry about fake accounts, according to
the filing.
"Mr. Musk has made it clear that
he does not believe the company's lax testing methodologies are adequate so he
must conduct his own analysis," Ringler said. "The data he has
requested is necessary to do so."
To execute the deal, Musk "must have a
complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter's business
model — its active user base," said the filing.
"Mr. Musk believes Twitter is
transparently refusing to comply with its obligations under the merger
agreement."
Later Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken
Paxton announced a civil probe of Twitter "for potentially false reporting
over its fake bot accounts in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices
Act."
Shares of Twitter fell 1.5 percent to
$39.56.
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