Elon Musk's Twitter Deal: Bots Are the Problem, Not China - Is the Deal Pushing Through?

Elon Musk is still uncertain if he will push through with buying Twitter.

The reason, which also halted the deal, is still Twitter's bot accounts.

Will the Deal Push Through?

The billionaire warned that before the acquisition becomes official, several difficulties must first be resolved, such as obtaining the exact estimate of bots on the bird app and accomplishing the financing for the deal.

As reported first by Time, Musk said in a statement with Bloomberg's Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at an Economic Forum in Doha that the number of spam, fraudulent, and bot accounts on the app is still a pressing issue for him.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has constantly raised doubts about Twitter's transparency on bot accounts ever since sealing a deal to buy the company for $54.20 per share in April. He also put the deal on hold and said he could lower the deal's price.

Time noted that Musk's lawyer has stated that Twitter must comply by releasing the requisite information to obtain the debt financing needed to complete the transaction.

Musk's takeover will be backed by $13 billion in borrowed financing from banks. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., and Barclays Plc are among the lenders.

He stated in the forum that he is committed to improving the services of Twitter and looks forward to getting 80% of North America and maybe "half of the world" on the social network.

China: Not a Problem

Musk also noted that if he takes ownership of Twitter, his commercial operation in China will not be a problem, a country with a crucial production hub and increasing consumer industry for Tesla.

It is worth noting that China has an official ban on Twitter. However, it still utilizes the app to convey public messages around the world. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Musk's arch-nemesis, wrote a tweet alluding to Musk's statement that says, "Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square."

He also declined to reveal the certainty of whether the Twitter transaction will push through, given that he frequently brought up the bot issue as an ongoing problem, implying that he is open to any possibilities that may come with the deal.

Musk put the takeover on hold while he launched an independent investigation on the veracity of real accounts. He also filed a formal letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission warning Twitter's board that unless they prove the number of its user base, he could scrap the deal.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla