Elon Musk: I Can Legally Cancel Twitter Deal Unless I Get Fake Account Data
Elon Musk now claims he has the right to terminate his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion due to the company refusing to hand over more data on how it count bots and fake accounts.
Musk’s lawyers made the assertion in a Monday SEC filing(Opens in a new window) that alleges Twitter has been “actively resisting and thwarting his information rights” by withholding the data.
“This is a clear material breach of Twitter’s obligations under the merger agreement and Mr. Musk reserves all rights resulting therefrom, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement,” his lawyers write.
According to the SEC filing, Musk has been trying to obtain the data from Twitter since May 9— about two weeks after he announced plans to buy the company—so that he can “conduct his own analysis” on the number of bots and fake accounts circulating over the social media platform. However, Twitter has refused to hand over all the data, the filing alleges.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the SEC filing notes the company has been willing to supply some details on how it counts bots/fake accounts, but not entirely to Musk’s liking.
“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,” Musk’s lawyers say. “Twitter’s effort to characterize it otherwise is merely an attempt to obfuscate and confuse the issue.”
The SEC filing may signal Musk is preparing to bail on the deal. Last month, Musk said he’d stop the acquisition over concerns Twitter has been massively undercounting its spam and bot problem,
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