Facebook announced Thursday that it’s overhauling the design of its flagship social network by elevating content from creators over posts from friends and family in an effort to fend off intensifying competition for users’ attention.
In a fiery filing, Twitter accuses Musk of violating the merger agreement “because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.”
The company is likely to face a lengthy courtroom battle with one of the world’s richest and most mercurial individuals, which could paralyze its ability to launch new initiatives and attract workers.
Twitter could push for a $1 billion breakup fee that Musk agreed to pay under these circumstances. Instead, it looks ready to fight to complete the purchase, which the company’s board has approved and CEO Parag Agrawal has insisted he wants to consummate.
Twitter plans to offer Elon Musk access to its “firehose” of raw data on hundreds of millions of daily tweets in an effort to push forward the Tesla billionaire’s agreed-to $44 billion acquisition, according to multiple news reports.
Elon Musk is threatening to end his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter, accusing the company of refusing to give him information about its spam bot accounts.
Zionsville Mayor Emily Styron berated a commenter she disagreed with in a profanity-filled Facebook posting following the school shooting in Texas that took the lives of 19 children.
Social media companies are competing for the same pool of advertising money that is increasingly under threat from spiking inflation and also changes at Apple Inc. that can restrict the information social media platforms can collect on users, a big selling point for advertisers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told a Miami technology conference that a viable deal at a lower price would not be out of the question, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Elon Musk’s concern about spam and fake accounts on the social media platform represents yet another twist amid signs of internal turmoil over the proposed acquisition.
The infusion adds heft to the Tesla chief’s offer and eases some of the financial pressure he’s taken on in pursuit of the social media platform.
Musk also brought up several ideas to boost revenue for the company, such as paying “influencers” to create content, following a business model that helped make TikTok a powerhouse social media app.
The outspoken Tesla CEO, who is also the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech.
Twitter’s plan would take effect if Musk’s roughly 9% stake grows to 15% or more. Even then, Musk could still take over the company with a proxy fight by voting out the current directors.
CEO Parag Agrawal held a companywide meeting to reassure his 7,500 full-time employee workforce by arguing that one man could not change a culture and that it was up to the company to set strategy
Musk has been a vocal critic of Twitter in recent weeks, mostly over his belief that it falls short on free speech principles. He now says, “Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO in November. Musk’s stake in Twitter is now more than four times the size of Dorsey’s, who had been the largest individual shareholder.
Twitter shares exploded 26% in premarket trading after the Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Musk snapped up more than 73 million shares, valued at $2.89 billion.
More than a third of Facebook’s daily active users have opted in to have their faces recognized by the social network’s system. That’s about 640 million people.
Twitter’s action Saturday came after Republican Rep. Jim Banks posted tweets last week regarding Dr. Rachel Levine’s becoming the first openly transgender four-star officer in the U.S. uniformed services. Levine is also the nation’s assistant secretary of health.
