Why Does Elon Musk Want to Buy Twitter Again?
2022-10-06
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1Elon Musk, the world's richest person, again says he wants to buy the social media company Twitter.
2Last April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
3Musk said at the time that his goal was to shape the service into a place for free speech.
4Three months later, Musk withdrew his offer saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information about the number of false, or fake, accounts.
5The agreement to buy Twitter requires Musk to pay the company $1 billion if he does not complete the deal.
6Twitter, however, opened a legal action, or lawsuit, to force Musk to close the deal.
7This week, Musk told Twitter in a letter that he wanted to do the deal as they had agreed to in April.
8He also asked for an end to the legal action that will start in less than two weeks in the state of Delaware.
9Twitter answered that it plans to close the deal at $54.20 per share after receiving Musk's letter.
10The social media company did not say whether it would end the lawsuit against Musk.
11Andrew Jennings is a professor at Brooklyn Law School.
12He told the Associated Press, "I don't think Twitter will give up its trial date on just Musk's word - it's going to need more certainty about closing."
13Jennings noted that Twitter may also be worried that Musk may be acting simply to delay the legal action.
14Musk has sought, and failed, to postpone the process two times earlier.
15Musk says Twitter misrepresented how it measures false accounts on its site.
16In July, Musk argued that he could end the deal without penalty because the number of false accounts was much higher than Twitter's estimate of less than 5 percent of users.
17The number of active accounts is important for advertising rates and the overall value of the service.
18But Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the Delaware court's head judge, appeared set to center the case on the deal between Musk and Twitter and possible changes that could end it since the deal was signed in April.
19In the same month, a former chief of security at Twitter took legal action against the company.
20Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, accused the company of lying about its efforts to control false accounts and strengthen its cyber defenses.
21It was not immediately clear why Musk chose to drop the fight in court.
22But Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia University said he was not surprised by Musk's decision.
23He said, "On the legal merits, his case didn't look that strong."
24Musk is to make a sworn statement in court on Thursday. And Talley added, "a lot of uncomfortable facts were going to come out."
25The Tesla and SpaceX founder also faces possible rising costs.
26If he lost the trial, the judge could not only force him to close the deal but also could order interest payments that would increase its cost.
27Musk and his representatives have not answered questions from news organizations about the latest offer to close the Twitter deal.
28A user of Twitter, Musk wrote on the social media website last night: "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app." He did not provide any more details.
29I'm Andrew Smith.
1Elon Musk, the world's richest person, again says he wants to buy the social media company Twitter. 2Last April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk said at the time that his goal was to shape the service into a place for free speech. 3Three months later, Musk withdrew his offer saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information about the number of false, or fake, accounts. 4The agreement to buy Twitter requires Musk to pay the company $1 billion if he does not complete the deal. Twitter, however, opened a legal action, or lawsuit, to force Musk to close the deal. 5This week, Musk told Twitter in a letter that he wanted to do the deal as they had agreed to in April. He also asked for an end to the legal action that will start in less than two weeks in the state of Delaware. 6Twitter answered that it plans to close the deal at $54.20 per share after receiving Musk's letter. The social media company did not say whether it would end the lawsuit against Musk. 7Andrew Jennings is a professor at Brooklyn Law School. He told the Associated Press, "I don't think Twitter will give up its trial date on just Musk's word - it's going to need more certainty about closing." Jennings noted that Twitter may also be worried that Musk may be acting simply to delay the legal action. 8Musk has sought, and failed, to postpone the process two times earlier. 9Musk's argument against the Twitter deal 10Musk says Twitter misrepresented how it measures false accounts on its site. 11In July, Musk argued that he could end the deal without penalty because the number of false accounts was much higher than Twitter's estimate of less than 5 percent of users. The number of active accounts is important for advertising rates and the overall value of the service. 12But Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the Delaware court's head judge, appeared set to center the case on the deal between Musk and Twitter and possible changes that could end it since the deal was signed in April. 13In the same month, a former chief of security at Twitter took legal action against the company. 14Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, accused the company of lying about its efforts to control false accounts and strengthen its cyber defenses. 15Why did Musk change his mind now? 16It was not immediately clear why Musk chose to drop the fight in court. But Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia University said he was not surprised by Musk's decision. He said, "On the legal merits, his case didn't look that strong." 17Musk is to make a sworn statement in court on Thursday. And Talley added, "a lot of uncomfortable facts were going to come out." 18The Tesla and SpaceX founder also faces possible rising costs. If he lost the trial, the judge could not only force him to close the deal but also could order interest payments that would increase its cost. 19Musk and his representatives have not answered questions from news organizations about the latest offer to close the Twitter deal. 20A user of Twitter, Musk wrote on the social media website last night: "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app." He did not provide any more details. 21I'm Andrew Smith. 22Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press and Reuters. 23_______________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25certainty - n. a fact about which there is no doubt 26merit - n. value or worth 27uncomfortable - adj. causing a feeling of being embarrassed or uneasy 28accelerant - n. something that makes thing move faster