What you need to know
- Elon Musk's embattled Twitter takeover bid has taken another turn.
- He says the company is dragging its heels in providing data about spam and fake accounts.
- The number could make a big difference to Twitter's value.
Elon Musk says that Twitter is refusing to give him more information about spam and fake accounts on the platform that could drastically alter the value of the platform.
In a filing Monday representation for Tesla CEO and Twitter suitor stated:
Mr. Musk does not agree with the characterizations in Twitter's June 1 letter. Twitter has, in fact, refused to provide the information that Mr. Musk has repeatedly requested since May 9, 2022 to facilitate his evaluation of spam and fake accounts on the company's platform. Twitter's latest offer to simply provide additional details regarding the company's own testing methodologies, whether through written materials or verbal explanations, is tantamount to refusing Mr. Musk's data requests. Twitter's effort to characterize it otherwise is merely an attempt to obfuscate and confuse the issue.
The filing says that Twitter's "lax testing methodologies" are inadequate in Musk's eyes such that "he must conduct his own analysis."
It also says that Musk is entitled to seek such information and that Twitter is obligated to provide it, stating he was "clearly entitled" to the information.
Musk "believes Twitter is transparently refusing to comply with its obligations under the merger agreement" and that Twitter is doing this on purpose to hide what the figures may uncover, namely that Twitter has a much higher number of fake and spam accounts on its platform than first thought. Such a revelation could seriously dent Twitter's value, as it would make advertising less effective and therefore less valuable to potential buyers.
