Takeover of Twitter | ‘Fake users’ issue stalls deal, says Musk

(Doha) Multi-billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday that there were “some unresolved issues” in his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, including the “very important” issue of the number of fake users on the social network.

Posted at 8:12

“There are still some unresolved issues,” Elon Musk said during the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, where he appeared by videoconference, but did not wish to expand too much on the “sensitive” subject of the takeover of Twitter.

According to him, the social network estimates the number of fake accounts and spam at less than 5% of daily active users, which the entrepreneur questions.

“We are still awaiting a settlement on this very important issue,” hammered the boss of Tesla and SpaceX, while Twitter finally agreed in early June to provide him with the necessary information on this subject.

Twitter’s debt and shareholder vote in favor are also among the issues to be resolved, he added.

Elon Musk wants 80% of the North American population and half of the world to join the social network and recognizes that it should therefore not be “a space where people feel uncomfortable or harassed” .

This is where his conception of freedom of expression, “different from free access” to content, comes into play.

“Twitter’s approach should be to let people say what they want within the bounds of the law and limit who sees what based on user preferences,” he said.

If his takeover project is successful, Elon Musk wants to “steer the product” Twitter, as he does at Tesla and SpaceX, without necessarily having the title of CEO.

The multi-billionaire also clarified the figures published in the media at the beginning of June on a possible reduction in the workforce at Tesla, announcing that the number of employees should decrease by around 3.5% in the next three months before starting to increase again in a year.

Regarding the 2024 US presidential election, the entrepreneur said he had not decided who to support, but that he was thinking of investing between 20 and 25 million dollars in the campaign of the candidate on whom his choice.

Elon Musk has previously said he favors the ultra-conservative Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.


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