Elon Musk took over Twitter for $44 billion, but the deal has been put on hold. (file)
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Business magnate Elon Musk said on Tuesday that his $44 billion move to take over Twitter remained in place because of “very important” questions about the number of fake users on the social network.
When asked at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk was reluctant to talk about the deal, saying it was a “sensitive” matter.
“There are still some unresolved cases,” Musk said by video link.
This includes whether “the number of fake and spam users on the system is less than five percent according to their claims, which I believe is probably not what most people experience when using Twitter”.
“So we’re still waiting for a solution on that matter and it’s a very important matter,” said the Tesla car and SpaceX exploration chief.
Musk said there were also questions about Twitter’s debt and whether shareholders would vote for the deal.
“So I think these are the three things that need to be sorted out in order to have a transaction”, he said.
Musk said he wants to get 80 percent of the North American population and half the world’s population on Twitter.
“That means it has to be something that is appealing to people, it obviously can’t be a place where they feel uncomfortable or upset or they wouldn’t use it.”
“I think that’s the big difference between freedom of expression and freedom of access,” Musk said. “You are allowed to shout more or less whatever you want in a public place. But whatever you say, no matter how controversial, does not need to be broadcast across the country.”
“So I think Twitter’s approach in general is to let people say what they want within the balance of the law, but then limit who sees it based on the preferences of any given Twitter user,” Musk said. Do it.”
He said his role would be to “drive the product” if the deal goes ahead, adding that this is what he has done at Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk said he expects Tesla’s workforce to drop by about 3.5 percent over the next three months, but within a year the workforce will start growing again.
When asked about the next US presidential election in 2024, Musk said he has not decided who to support, but that he is prepared to put $20-$25 million into a candidate’s campaign.
He had previously hinted that he might support Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)