LONDON (AP) – Elon Musk said on Friday that his planned $ 44 billion Twitter purchase was “temporarily suspended” until he clarified details about spam and fake social media accounts.
The announcement, which the billionaire Tesla wrote on Twitter, is another twist amid signs of internal turmoil over his planned buyout of Twitter, including that the social media company fired two of its top executives on Thursday.
It was unclear whether the fake account issue could disrupt the Twitter transaction. Shares on both Twitter and Tesla turned sharply in opposite directions: Twitter shares fell 18%, and Tesla, which Musk proposed to use to finance the Twitter deal, jumped 5%.
Investors had to weigh the legal issues for Mask, as well as the possibility that the acquisition of Twitter could distract from managing the world’s most valuable automaker.
Twitter reported on Thursday that the company is suspending most hiring and except important business roles. In addition, the statement said that “we cut non-wage costs to ensure that we are responsible and efficient.”
In a note sent to employees and confirmed by Twitter, CEO Parag Agraval said the company had not reached the stages of growth and revenue after the company began “aggressively” investing to expand its user base and revenue.
https://wgnradio.com/news/technology-news/elon-musk-says-twitter-deal-temporarily-on-hold/
