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laptech

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2013
3,600
4,004
Earth
I don't know how buyouts work. As it stands at the moment, Twitters share price has been dropping. Due to the share price keep on dropping, is Musk obligated to pay what the share price was at the time when he put his offer in? because surely if the value of the company keeps on dropping he cannot be obligated to buy at the price he said he would because i doubt the company is worth $44 billion now, or is he and it's a case of tough luck Musk?.
 

kc9hzn

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2020
1,603
1,909
I think the point is Twitter themselves say there are so few fake accounts, but Elon (and the rest of us, frankly) think that there's many more than that.
Considering the firehose of new accounts each second on Twitter, either Twitter is claiming that most of those are genuine or that they do a super good job of filtering out fake accounts so that, at any one point in time, only 5% of accounts are fake or spam. But that seems suspect to me, especially when the lines between what is and isn’t spam are so easily blurred on that platform. Millions of people unironically followed @horseebooks, despite it being a spam account trying to hawk cheap ebooks.
 

webkit

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2021
2,915
2,526
United States
I don't know how buyouts work. As it stands at the moment, Twitters share price has been dropping. Due to the share price keep on dropping, is Musk obligated to pay what the share price was at the time when he put his offer in? because surely if the value of the company keeps on dropping he cannot be obligated to buy at the price he said he would because i doubt the company is worth $44 billion now, or is he and it's a case of tough luck Musk?.

He is obligated to pay the agreed price (or face a termination fee) unless something financially meaningful is discovered leading up to close of the deal e.g., 25% of Twitter accounts are fake/scam instead of the 5% Twitter claimed in public filings. Although Musk apparently waived due diligence as part of the tentative agreement negotiations, if it can be shown that Twitter lied in public filings it could be an out for him without having to pay the termination fee. Potential findings could also put Twitter in hot water with the SEC, shareholders, etc.
 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
This came across today and while not a surprise it is concerning that the potential fake/bot accounts is so large.

57B7FC3C-8075-4002-B6FB-0B89248CAA1D.png
 

ChrisMoBro

Suspended
Oct 31, 2016
736
2,960
A rent free meme. An emotional punching bag.

The never ending TDS drum banging cult of self perpetuating misery has found its new bae. Thank God because it was beginning to feel a little irrelevant and aimless in its pursuit.
No, he’s just a complete ****.
 

laptech

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2013
3,600
4,004
Earth
I do not get why people are so p****d off about this change of heart from Musk. If Twitter have overstated the value of the business by artifically reducing the actual number of spam/fake user accounts, Musk has a right to explore this.

We all do excactly the same when it comes to buying a house or a car, if we hear rumours that something may not have been disclosed properly during the buying process, we investigate because in our minds we now have doubts about the price and if it is actually worth what we are being told it's worth.

If we do it, why can't Musk? Or is it a case of double standards, it's ok for us to investigate such things in our lives but it is not ok for business people such as Musk?
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
I do not get why people are so p****d off about this change of heart from Musk. If Twitter have overstated the value of the business by artifically reducing the actual number of spam/fake user accounts, Musk has a right to explore this.

We all do excactly the same when it comes to buying a house or a car, if we hear rumours that something may not have been disclosed properly during the buying process, we investigate because in our minds we now have doubts about the price and if it is actually worth what we are being told it's worth.

If we do it, why can't Musk? Or is it a case of double standards, it's ok for us to investigate such things in our lives but it is not ok for business people such as Musk?

I always do this on a home purchase - get my own home inspection. It has been beneficial as to saving my ass or confirming I was getting what I thought.

Used cars also.
 

turbineseaplane

macrumors G5
Mar 19, 2008
14,962
32,016
Due to the share price keep on dropping, is Musk obligated to pay what the share price was at the time when he put his offer in?

Yes..
That's how "agreements" work.

There is no language in what he signed to signal a repricing based upon new data and Elon signed an agreement where he waived his right to due diligence.

Not if it is potentially criminal. NDA or not.

There is nothing criminal here.
 
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webkit

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2021
2,915
2,526
United States
I do not get why people are so p****d off about this change of heart from Musk. If Twitter have overstated the value of the business by artifically reducing the actual number of spam/fake user accounts, Musk has a right to explore this.

I don't know how much of a "change of heart" this truly is as I think things are going more or less as expected. Musk was likely suspicious of Twitter’s 5% fake/spam claim (and probably other things) and went into this with a high offer to get a tentative deal and potentially expose some of Twitter's questionable business practices and claims. However, I still think he is genuinely interested in buying Twitter.
 

turbineseaplane

macrumors G5
Mar 19, 2008
14,962
32,016
Lying to the SEC and/or shareholders would be criminal.

No proof of that

Guys, stop eating up what Elon "wants" to be true.

He used this to sell a bunch of TSLA w/o tanking it and now wants out as he's had his moment in the sun

Way too many folks listen to Elon -- when we should simply watch what he actually does.
(same with all billionaires)
 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Yes..
That's how "agreements" work.

There is no language in what he signed to signal a repricing based upon new data and Elon signed an agreement where he waived his right to due diligence.



There is nothing criminal here.

Misrepresenting to the SEC here is a civil act, lying to any Government official is a criminal act, and these civil violations to the SEC are frequently followed by AG charges. Agreements like this cannot be used to legally hide criminality. At least in the US.

I would say this "question" by Elon Musk definitely falls into "take a serious look" category.
 

dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
No proof of that

Guys, stop eating up what Elon "wants" to be true.

He used this to sell a bunch of TSLA w/o tanking it and now wants out as he's had his moment in the sun

Way too many folks listen to Elon -- when we should simply watch what he actually does.
(same with all billionaires)

See post #180 here

This issue has come up before in Congressional hearings but was never followed through that I am aware of.
 

turbineseaplane

macrumors G5
Mar 19, 2008
14,962
32,016
Point of all this being that had Musk consulted anyone of competence in the space he should have been well informed of what to expect prior to even making an offer.

Exactly

It's his own fault for being so brazen and stupid and signing this particular version of an agreement to purchase.
 

webkit

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2021
2,915
2,526
United States
No proof of that

Guys, stop eating up what Elon "wants" to be true.

He used this to sell a bunch of TSLA w/o tanking it and now wants out as he's had his moment in the sun

Way too many folks listen to Elon -- when we should simply watch what he actually does.
(same with all billionaires)

Not yet but it's still early in the process. Fraud is at least being suspected here and an investigation is justified. If Twitter can prove their 5% number is reasonably accurate, they having nothing to worry about.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Not yet but it's still early in the process. Fraud is at least being suspected here and an investigation is justified. If Twitter can prove their 5% number is reasonably accurate, they having nothing to worry about.

If what Elon says is correct, he still wants to buy Twitter.
Based on what Twitter proves that price may change. Unless the SEC dives in :oops:
 

webkit

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2021
2,915
2,526
United States
If what Elon says is correct, he still wants to buy Twitter.
Based on what Twitter proves that price may change. Unless the SEC dives in :oops:

Musk certainly seems to be encouraging an SEC investigation which could drag this out for a while and, depending on what's found, may end badly for Twitter. I can also see law firms lining up ready to pounce on behalf of shareholders and advertisers depending on how this goes. It could also open the door for investigations of other social media platforms/companies.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
Musk certainly seems to be encouraging an SEC investigation which could drag this out for a while and, depending on what's found, may end badly for Twitter. I can also see law firms lining up ready to pounce on behalf of shareholders and advertisers depending on how this goes. It could also open the door for investigations of other social media platforms/companies.

Depending on how things go this could get ugly.
 

ponzicoinbro

Suspended
Aug 5, 2021
1,081
2,085
I miss the old school CEOs who didn’t lie to the SEC, didn’t tell lies every day on social media and didn‘t try to become billionaire from lying, trolling and memeing about products they will never deliver.

Want to hear something special about a CEO who changed the world and didn’t do these scams, market manipulations and trolling?

His name was Steve Jobs.

He didn’t become a billionaire until more than 20 years after Apple was founded.

He sold almost all his Apple stock in 1985.

He put his own money into founding Pixar and NeXT and made tremenous innovations there that we are all benefitting from today.

He never pretended to be a founder of a company he didn’t found. He always credited his engineers and gave them a limelight.

He didn’t have any Apple shares until was given Apple shares after he become CEO of Apple again.

He worked his ass off to make Apple great. Not with lies about flying tunnels and dancing robots and dog moneys. He brought us real things and he delivered them.

He didn’t become a billionaire until around the time he sold Pixar to Disney.

When he died he was worth about $11 billion. Half of that was Disney stock he was given for the Pixar deal.

If he was still alive today and didn’t sell any of his shares he would be worth about $39 billion.

That’s about seven times less than Elon.

That’s very bad and makes no sense. That can only happen if a company if very overvalued and there are a lot of crooked things going on.


So no wonder he uses social media to keep everyone confused and entertained. It’s a distraction.
 
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dk001

macrumors demi-god
Oct 3, 2014
10,684
15,033
Sage, Lightning, and Mountains
I miss the old school CEOs who didn’t lie to the SEC, didn’t tell lies every day on social media and didn‘t try to become billionaire from lying, trolling and memeing about products they will never deliver.

Want to hear something special about a CEO who changed the world and didn’t do these scams, market manipulations and trolling?

His name was Steve Jobs.

He didn’t become a billionaire until more than 20 years after Apple was founded.

He sold almost all his Apple stock in 1985.

He put his own money into founding Pixar and NeXT and made tremenous innovations there that we are all benefitting from today.

He never pretended to be a founder of a company he didn’t found. He always credited his engineers and gave them a limelight.

He didn’t have any Apple shares until was given Apple shares after he become CEO of Apple again.

He worked his ass off to make Apple great. Not with lies about flying tunnels and dancing robots and dog moneys. He brought us real things and he delivered them.

He didn’t become a billionaire until around the time he sold Pixar to Disney.

When he died he was worth about $11 billion. Half of that was Disney stock he was given for the Pixar deal.

If he was still alive today and didn’t sell any of his shares he would be worth about $39 billion.

That’s about seven times less than Elon.

That’s very bad and makes no sense. That can only happen if a company if very overvalued and there are a lot of crooked things going on.


So no wonder he uses social media to keep everyone confused and entertained. It’s a distraction.

If CEO's like that really existed why do we have so many rules and regulations surrounding business.
thoughtful caring honest CEO's are a rare bird. Very rare.
 
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laptech

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2013
3,600
4,004
Earth
Are people really that biased against Musk? because I fail to see how any of this is Elon's fault as many are claiming to be because they are saying he did not do proper checks on the company before putting pen to paper. My answer to that would be why should he? Twitter had to submit filings to the SEC regarding how much the company is worth. Companies are not allowed to lie to the SEC because they can be fined if found to do hence why filings to the SEC are supposed to be honest and accurate. Therefore, if a company is not allowed to lie or hide things from the SEC, why on earth would Musk carry out his own checks on the company knowing that information supplied to the SEC has to be truthful and accurate.

Twitter submitted their filings to the SEC, the companies value was then given and Musk who would have beileved that Twitter would have given the SEC truthful and accurate information about the company signed on the dotted line. Then a few days later rumblings start appearing in the tech press that Twitter may not have been truthful with regards to the percentage of spam/fake accounts the company has on it's books. Twitter is not allowed to lie to the SEC so why are the tech press pouring doubts on the companies statement that it only has 5% or less spam/fake accounts on it's books.

Depending on which tech press website you read, critics are saying that they believe Twitters actual percentage of spam/fake accounts is much much higher than the 5% that Twitter filed with the SEC.

Far too many times someone has purchased something at face value only to find they were duped and what they purchased was no where near the value they were told. Then the person is derided in the media for not checking properly on what they were purchasing. There are doubts surfacing about the accuracy of the filings Twitter gave to the SEC. Many in the media now saying Musk is looking for a cheaper deal or that he is looking for a way out. Is the media basically saying that Musk is not allowed to investigate if the filings to the SEC are accurate?
 
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