Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Elon Musk 'not sure' his takeover bid for Twitter will be successful

Elon Musk 'not sure' his takeover bid for Twitter will be successful

Tesla boss Elon Musk has admitted he is "not sure" his takeover bid for social media firm Twitter will be successful.

He made the comments at a conference just hours after revealing that he had offered to buy the company for $54.20 a share, valuing the firm at $43bn.

Also on Thursday, Twitter's chief executive told employees that the company was evaluating the approach.

Parag Agrawal reportedly said at the staff meeting that the company was not being "held hostage" by the offer.

Speaking at the TED2022 conference in Vancouver, Mr Musk said: "I am not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it."

He added that he had a "Plan B" if his bid for Twitter was rejected, but gave no further details of what that could mean.

Mr Musk also said at the event that Twitter should be more open and transparent. "I think it's very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech," he said.

On Thursday, he revealed his offer to buy all the shares in Twitter that he does not already own.

In an official filing to US regulators, Mr Musk said he was the right person to "unlock" the company's "extraordinary potential" and that if his offer was not accepted, "I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder."

He also said that if Twitter's board of directors chose to reject the offer, it would be "utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote".

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal shunned the bid, tweeting: "I don't believe that the proposed offer by Elon Musk comes close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects."

The billionaire claimed that he has a stake in Twitter through his investment firm Kingdom Holding Company. However, Mr Musk immediately replied asking how many Twitter shares Prince Alwaleed's firm owns, adding: "What are the Kingdom's views on journalist freedom of speech?"


Twitter confirmed that it had received the bid, but said its board must still review the "unsolicited, non-binding" offer, which values its shares at well below the level of more than $70 that they reached last summer.

Mr Musk already owns more than 9% of the social media platform, but he is no longer its biggest shareholder.

Asset management firm Vanguard Group disclosed on 8 April that its funds now own a 10.3% stake, bumping him off the top spot.

Mr Musk is the world's richest man, according to Forbes magazine, mostly due to his shareholding in electric vehicle maker Tesla where he is chief executive.

He has not revealed any details on how his bid for Twitter will be financed. Mr Musk is being advised by US investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Bruce Daisley, Twitter's former vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, told the BBC's Today programme that Mr Musk appeared to be "toying with the company to some extent".

"The latest bid he's put in, as far as I can tell, doesn't seem to be regarded as a serious bid but it is proving to be very disruptive with the organisation I think."

He said that Twitter may benefit from being taken private and out of the hands of shareholders.

"To some extent the constant scrutiny of being a publicly listed company, following in the footsteps of the likes of Google and Facebook, is definitely a challenge for the organisation so private ownership might be the right solution.

"I'm not convinced Elon Musk's approach is going to win many fans though," he added.

Twitter's shares, which are listed in New York, initially rose on Thursday but ended down 1.6% at $45.08, below Mr Musk's offer.

The board of Twitter has enlisted the help of another Wall Street bank, Goldman Sachs, as it considers how to respond to the takeover approach.


Other than acknowledging the takeover bid, Twitter has publicly kept pretty quiet since Elon Musk revealed his attempt to buy the company.

But details have emerged of an "all hands" meeting, where questions were put to the company's chief executive, Parag Agrawal.

The details give nothing more than a suggestion of what Twitter's management thinks of the offer. Mr Agrawal reportedly said he could not talk about the details, but that the company was not being "held hostage".

I'm told the meeting was designed to give employees more information. But one Twitter worker told me they left the meeting more confused. "I didn't leave feeling any sense of clarity," they said.

The employee said that they were in the dark about what could happen next. "I would say I know about as much as the public on Twitter," they said.

Twitter's board not only has to weigh up the offer, but also assess the damage that Elon Musk could do if scorned. Apparently he has a Plan B if Twitter rejects his offer.

Twitter may be worth tens of billions of dollars, but it is nothing compared to Elon Musk, who is worth more than $200bn. And that kind of wealth makes him a dangerous foe.


Watch: Ex-Twitter exec Vivian Schiller questions seriousness of Musk offer


Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×