Tesla CEO Elon Musk has admitted he’s “not sure” about the $43 billion acquisition of Twitter .
Neither Netflix or HBO dared to do so much. Billionaire Elon Musk admitted at a conference this Thursday that he is “not sure” about acquiring Twitter , an operation that the same CEO of SpaceX and Tesla had advanced in the early hours of this Thursday the 13th , and that offers up to 43 thousand dollars in exchange for the 100% of the shares of the social network founded by Jack Dorsey.
Twitter’s Board of Directors announced this morning that they had received Musk’s offer, and that they are evaluating the possibility of asking for $70 per share, a figure higher than the $54.20 anticipated by the South African businessman.
In a TED talk held this Thursday, Elon Musk was asked about this issue, and about some guaranteed financing to carry out this operation. “I have enough assets… I can do it if possible,” said the businessman.
Thursday’s TED Talk moderator Chris Anderson asked Elon Musk if there was any Plan B if the offer is rejected. Musk mentioned that “yes there is.”
Hours earlier, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal shared on his Twitter account that he rejected Musk’s offer, noting that “the proposed offer does not come close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects.”
I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects.
Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer.https://t.co/Jty05oJUTk pic.twitter.com/XpNHUAL6UX
— الوليد بن طلال (@Alwaleed_Talal) April 14, 2022
During the event, broadcast live, Musk took the opportunity to talk about the vision he has regarding the improvement of Twitter, in case he can finalize the transaction. “I think it’s very important that there is an inclusive arena for freedom of expression, ” he said, comparing Twitter to a “de facto town square.”
Part of Elon Musk’s proposal is to provide the platform with greater openness to listen to comments and suggestions from the community. In recent weeks, Musk has been critical of Twitter implementations, conducting free surveys from his account on that social network, which is followed by more than 80 million subscribers.
Sell Tesla to buy Twitter
A moment ago, the founder of Neuralink shared a survey on Twitter with the aim of clarifying the role of investors, regarding the proposal to pay $54.30 for each share of the company. “Making Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to the shareholders, not the board,” she commented before adding checkboxes to approve or disapprove of his argument.
Taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
West Fargo analysts pointed out that this aggressive acquisition could distract Elon Musk and his multiple occupations, leading projects in several of his companies.
“Tesla is currently in the early days of expanding two factories, those in Austin and Berlin, which will likely double its global capacity. Running Twitter would be a potential distraction for a CEO who already has a full plate. In addition, the financing terms of the acquisition are not clear. Elon’s most liquid assets would be his Tesla shares valued at $170 billion,” the analysts noted.