Tesla chief Elon Musk hints at Twitter Plan B, lambastes SEC over settlement
Elon Musk expressed doubt about whether he’ll succeed with his $43 billion offer to buy Twitter Inc. in his first public comments about the blockbuster deal.
“I am not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it,” the billionaire entrepreneur said Thursday at a TED event in Vancouver. Musk said he has a Plan B if Twitter rejects his offer, without offering more details.
The comments, made during a lengthy interview with TED head Chris Anderson, came hours after the world’s richest person and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX roiled the financial world with the all-cash bid. With heightened interest in Musk’s activities, organizers of the conference made a last-minute change to make his prearranged appearance freely available online.
The offer is intended to create “an inclusive arena for free speech,” not as a way to make money, Musk said. He also said he has sufficient assets to complete the deal.
Twitter’s board views Musk’s move as unwelcome, The Information reported while he was still speaking, citing a person familiar with the situation.
The social-media company declined to comment beyond its earlier statement, which said the company would review Musk’s proposal and any response would be in the best interest of stockholders.
In the interview, Musk also criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he was essentially coerced into accepting a 2018 settlement in which he relinquished his role of chairman of Tesla’s board and paid a $20 million fine. The agreement came after Musk’s infamous tweet saying he had secured funding to take Tesla private.
Musk said Thursday that he had arranged the funding and said he was under pressure from the precarious financial situation of Tesla, which was
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