Tech Talk: Musk threatens to tear up Twitter deal if ‘fake-account data not provided’ – Gulf Digital News

Tech Talk: Musk threatens to tear up Twitter deal if ‘fake-account data not provided’ – Gulf Digital News

Elon Musk warned Twitter Inc on Monday that he might walk away from his $44 billion deal to acquire the social media company if it fails to provide the data on spam and fake accounts that he seeks.

This was not the first time Musk had suggested publicly his acquisition of Twitter may not happen. But the warning, delivered in a letter from Musk's lawyers to Twitter's chief legal officer, Vijaya Gadde, marked an escalation. It accused Twitter of being in "material breach" of its deal obligations.

Musk's threats to tear up the deal have coincided with a plunge in many technology stocks - including the electric car maker that he leads, Tesla Inc TSLA.O - amid concerns over an economic slowdown and higher interest rates in the face of raging inflation.

Twitter shares ended down 1.5% at $39.57 on Monday, a large discount to the agreed $52.20 deal price, as investors bet Musk will either convince Twitter to agree to a lower deal price or walk away.

In the letter to Twitter, Musk's lawyers reiterated his request for details on bot accounts and said he reserved all rights to terminate the acquisition as the company was in a "clear material breach" of its