Elon Musk Says Twitter Deal Is ‘Temporarily On Hold’

Elon Musk’s $44bn deal to buy Twitter is on hold due to the number of fake/spam accounts on the social media platform.

“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk tweeted, linking to a Reuters article last week citing a Twitter filing. Roughly two hours later, he added, “Still committed to acquisition.”

Twitter’s spam problem is years in the making. The company has previously acknowledged that reducing fake and malicious accounts would play a key factor in its ability to keep growing

Despite his declaration of commitment, some suspect the Tesla CEO may be trying to force a renegotiation of his original offer or looking to back out the deal entirely.

Although both parties signed an agreement that includes a $1bn break fee payable by Musk if he was to walk away.