Elon Musk is putting his Twitter deal on hold because… bots

Elon Musk said today he’s temporarily putting the Twitter deal on hold — because of bots.

Yep, you read that right. Musk said the company has to prove that bots consist of less than 5% of users on the platform.

This comes after a Twitter filing with SEC earlier this month, that claimed that the number of bots and spam accounts in its daily active users count — 229 million in Q1 2022 — is less than 5%.

Removing bots from Twitter was one of the Tesla CEO’s most advertised pitches when he was trying to take over the company. He reiterated this in a recent interview at a Financial Times conference.

Ironically, researchers have found that Musk has benefited from Twitter bot accounts that have helped boost Tesla shares and fight the company’s critics.

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Musk bought Twitter last month, but it will take a few months for the deal to be finalized. A Reuters report noted it’s unlikely that the deal will go through at the pre-agreed price of $44 billion, according to market investors.

At the time of writing, Twitter’s shares have been hovering around the $45 mark — much less than the $54.20 per share Musk agreed to.

Twitter’s facing a tough time amid a global tech regulation crackdown, the firing of executives, and market uncertainties. This new step by Musk to put the deal on hold will make investors and employees even more doubtful about its future.