Former President Donald Trump predicted on Friday that Elon Musk would not buy Twitter “at such a ridiculous price.”
Trump posted his comment on Truth Social – his microblogging site created for rival Twitter – just hours later. Musk stuns Wall Street That’s when he tweeted that his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter would be “on hold” pending review of the number of bots and spam accounts on the site.
The 45th president wrote, “There is no way Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter at such a ridiculous price, especially since it is being realized that this is a company based largely on BOTS or spam accounts.”
“Fake someone?” Added Trump, who was banned by the San Francisco-based social media company as well as other large platforms in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.
Trump, who has vowed not to return to Twitter even after taking control of the company, continued: “Unless you get rid of them, if it can even be done, what have you got? not much?”
He added: “If it weren’t for the ridiculous billion dollar breakup fee, Elon would have already been long gone.”
Trump then touted his own social media platform, which has been struggling since launch due to technical glitches as well as the departure of top officials.
“Just my opinion, but Truth Social is so much better than Twitter and absolutely explodes, incredible engagement!”
Musk, who recently promised to allow Trump to return to Twitter should he assume control of the company, insisted in a follow-up tweet early Friday that he would be willing to follow through with the buyout. Were “Still Committed” to.
Musk’s pending takeover of Twitter has been welcomed by Trump supporters, who say it will herald a new era of autocratic speech.
But the Trump-friendly atmosphere on Twitter could spell bad news for Truth Social, which was created specifically as an alternative to the mainstream micro-blogging platform.
The deal announced last month between Twitter and Musk apparently shocked Trump for posting on his site – something he had avoided doing since it was launched.
Musk’s decision to put the Twitter acquisition “on hold” sent shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp, the blank check firm that merged with Truth Social, up more than 5% on Friday.
Meanwhile, Twitter shares fell more than 7% at around noon Eastern time on Friday.
Shares of DWAC have tumbled since Musk announced last month that Twitter’s board of directors had accepted his buyout proposal.
Musk’s tweet on Friday had Wall Street investors speculating that he was either looking for a way out of the deal or seeking to renegotiate a lower purchase price.
Analysts said Musk is trying to rebalance financing of the deal so he won’t have to rely on leveraged shares of his electric car company Tesla.
Concerns about Musk’s Twitter acquisition and a broader tech sell-off have driven Tesla shares down 29% in the past month.