Twitter’s $44 billion deal is currently on hold, says Elon Musk

Elon Musk has previously agreed to acquire Twitter in a deal worth $44 billion.

Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk, has revealed earlier today that the $44 billion deal to acquire social media giant Twitter is on hold. Musk cited the issues with spam accounts as the primary reason the deal is on hold. He said;

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

Following this announcement, the shares of Twitter are down by 17% during Friday’s pre-market trading session. At press time, TWTR is trading at $37.40 after closing above $45 on Thursday.

Twitter is yet to comment on Elon Musk’s latest statement.

The social media giant has earlier this month estimated that spam and false accounts represent less than 5% of its monetised daily active users in the first quarter of 2022. 

Twitter added that the company currently faces several risks until the deal with Musk is finalised. Some of the risks include whether advertisers would continue to spend money on the platform. 

Musk, the world’s richest person, has outlined various changes he intends to make once he completes the acquisition of the social media company. At the time, he stated that one of his priorities would be to remove “spam bots” from Twitter.

Musk’s acquisition of Twitter comes from the desire to improve the platform. He pointed out on numerous occasions that Twitter should be a platform that is built on free speech. 

Earlier this week, Musk said he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former United States President Donald Trump when he completes the company’s acquisition, indicating his intention to cut moderation of the platform.

The Tesla CEO has raised funds from numerous investors, including leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, to fund Twitter’s acquisition.