In an interview he gave to the BBC on Wednesday, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX revealed the real reason that led him to buy the social network. Unexpected explanations…
In an interview granted this Wednesday to the British media BBCElon Musk has revealed the real reason he took over Twitter.
Remember: in April 2022, the billionaire who had previously expressed his interest in the social network, became the largest shareholder of Twitter, holding 9.2% of the capital. By his own admission, this was only a first step before a total takeover of the platform. But a month later, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX changes his mind, on the pretext that the study he commissioned confirms his fears: under his veneer of influential social network and favorite of media and political personalities, the brand at blue bird would have at least 5% fake accounts. Far too much for the whimsical businessman who then immediately suspended his takeover project and caused in the wake of his declarations a 15% drop in the Twitter share price.
Faced with this financial disaster, Twitter then took the decision to sue Elon Musk. A trial was to open on October 17, 2022, but on October 4 and despite the financial risks of such an operation estimated at 44 billion dollars, the billionaire confirmed his intention to finalize his acquisition project.
He did not have a choice
To the BBC correspondent who asked him if he resolved to become the owner of Twitter because a judge would not have left him the choice, Elon Musk replied: “Yes, that’s the reason”.
We understand better, thus, his brutal decision-making against the social network as soon as he became its owner. A month after acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, Musk announced plans to cut half the jobs and end telecommuting.