Elon Musk is set to go to trial in January for a $12 billion case against him and Tesla due to a 2018 tweet the judge determined was a lie.
Last week, Musk gave a TED Talk in Canada and became visibly upset. He may not be able to get out from under his oversight by the SEC due to this matter. The judge ruling that he is a liar will count against Musk as he attempts to purchase Twitter, Inc. The world’s richest man will have to remain with his “Twitter Sitter” even though he insists his tweets are trustworthy.
Last month, in a sworn statement to shareholders, Musk asserted he “never lied.” U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco later ruled and the records have been sealed from the public. Alex Spiro, Musk’s attorney, stated that Musk was telling the truth in 2018. His intentions were to make Tesla a private company and he could have, according to Spiro.
Musk is not been Twitter, Inc.’s first suitor since 2006. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg tried to purchase the social media site twice in the earlier years. In 2016, Google, Disney, Apple, and Salesforce all tried to purchase Twitter, Inc. All of them walked away, but Disney reported “the nastiness [was] extraordinary.”
Elliott Management the hedge fund showed interest in Twitter, Inc. in 2020. Now, it is Musk”s turn to try to take over the social media company. Last week, he moved forward with a hostile takeover bid that sent the company into crisis mode. Now, Twitter, Inc. will have to face its longstanding issues like never before. The advancement of the world’s richest man is growing by the day.
Twitter, Inc. went public in 2013 and only reported an annual profit in 2018 and 2019. The social media platform has been struggling to gain users and advertising. The lion’s share of the advertising money has been garnered by Google and Facebook. These outlets allow online advertisers to target customers based on users’ interests and search results. Twitter, Inc. has been unable to convince advertisers to join in its acidic environment.
The social media platform has made itself available to politicians, celebrities, world leaders, and journalists, however, 80 percent of adults in the U.S. do not use Twitter. It is not in the top 10 social media platforms. Facebook and YouTube are the top most popular platforms.
Twitter, Inc. has 217 million monthly active users. Facebook has 3 billion active users monthly in comparison. TikTok users spend an average of 48 minutes on the site and 33 minutes on Facebook. Users spend 10 minutes on Twitter, according to CRFA Research analyst Angelo Zino.
Written by Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
NPR: Why Twitter is an easy target for outsiders like Elon Musk intent on change; by Shannon Bond
The Times: Time is running out for Jack Dorsey to back Elon Musk’s Twitter bid
Bloomberg: As Musk Bids For Twitter, His Fight to Tweet Freely Hits Snag; by Joel Rosenblatt
Featured Image Courtesy of Mambembe Arts & Crafts’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of U.S. Army CCDC’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
