Elon Musk Puts $44 Billion Twitter Deal 'On Hold' [Updated]

Elon Musk is putting his $44 billion takeover of Twitter "temporarily on hold" after the company claimed that less than 5% of its users are spam or fake accounts.

twitter elon musk
The Tesla chief tweeted on Friday that the deal was being frozen while he waited for details backing up Twitter's claim:

"Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users."

Musk linked his decision to a May 2 Reuters report referring to a filing with the US financial regulator, in which Twitter asserted that fake and spam accounts represented less than 5% of its daily average users:

We have performed an internal review of a sample of accounts and estimate that the average of false or spam accounts during the first quarter of 2022 represented fewer than 5% of our mDAU during the quarter. The false or spam accounts for a period represents the average of false or spam accounts in the samples during each monthly analysis period during the quarter. In making this determination, we applied significant judgment, so our estimation of false or spam accounts may not accurately represent the actual number of such accounts, and the actual number of false or spam accounts could be higher than we have estimated.

Following Musk's announcement in April that he was offering to buy Twitter, the Tesla CEO said that he wanted to make the social media platform "better than ever" with new product features that will defeat spam bots and authenticate all humans.

As Friday's story broke, Twitter's share price fell by as much as 25% in pre-market trading, and is currently down around 15%.

Update 4:53 a.m.: In a follow-up tweet, Musk says he is "still committed to the acquisition."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
imac video apple feature

Apple to Announce New Products Next Week

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple has yet to release any new devices in 2025, but at least two new products are expected to be announced next week, according to rumors. Below, we outline the new Apple products that are likely to be unveiled next week. iPhone SE 4 Apple plans to announce the long-rumored iPhone SE 4 as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new iPhone SE is rumored to...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
maxresdefault

iPhone SE 4 Launch is Imminent - What to Expect

Friday February 7, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation low-cost iPhone is almost here, with rumors suggesting we're going to see it introduced as soon as next Tuesday. With a release happening in the very near future, we thought we'd highlight everything we know about Apple's newest iPhone. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Design The iPhone SE 4 will look like the iPhone 14, featuring a 6.1-inch ...

Top Rated Comments

Dan From Canada Avatar
36 months ago

Seems like only yesterday Must realized that content moderation was hard.

Oh wait.
Musk has no problem trying to silence critics of Tesla.
He lives on a one way street.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LukeHarrison Avatar
36 months ago

So am I getting it right - he now considers to NOT buy it, because Twitter has "only so little fake accounts"?
(my question is genuine, because english is not my 1st language and I really don't get it).
I think the point is Twitter themselves say there are so few fake accounts, but Elon (and the rest of us, frankly) think that there's many more than that.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dan From Canada Avatar
36 months ago
I created a twitter account many years ago when they went online.
Over the years Twitter has become nothing but a toxic cesspool of politics, from either side.
Goodbye Twitter. The account has been dead for months and will stay that way.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
raybo Avatar
36 months ago

Wonder if he’s having cold feet. How does it matter how many accounts are fake? Once he takes over, he can check and change anything he wants. Doesn’t seem like a substantial reason to put the deal on hold. Or probably there’s some angle I don’t understand.
It's illegal for a publicly traded firm to overstate its value. If the fake accounts were found to be 15% or 20%, for example, the stock price would be overvalued.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danfango Avatar
36 months ago
He’s probably trying to devalue it so he can buy it for less.

Realistically for a turd circling the bottom of the bowl it’s pretty overvalued.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ewestlund Avatar
36 months ago
So you’re telling me that Elon Musk does, in fact, care about the economics of buying Twitter.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)