Elon Musk accused Twitter of “resisting and thwarting” his right to information about fake accounts on the platform, threatening to end the deal to buy the social media company.
In an SEC filing released Monday morning, Musk’s lawyer said Twitter is committing a “clear material breach” of the merger agreement.
“Mr. Musk reserves all rights resulting therefrom, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement,” says a letter sent to the company by Skadden attorney Mike Ringler.
Last month Musk tweeted that his $44 billion bid to purchase the social media company would not move forward until he had convincing information about the number of fake accounts or bots. Analysts interpreted the move as a negotiation tactic for a lower price.
In Monday’s letter, Musk’s lawyer wrote that the merger agreement requires Twitter to provide the data Musk requested only for the purpose of helping to close the transaction.
“Mr. Musk is entitled to seek, and Twitter is obligated to provide information and data for, inter alia, ‘any reasonable business purpose related to the consummation of the transaction,’” the letter says.
Twitter has reported that 5% of its accounts can be fake, however Musk’s estimates that the number can climb up to 20%.
The letter explains that Musk believes Twitter is refusing to comply with its obligations, which is “causing further suspicion that the company is withholding the requested data.”
