Coverage dated May 12, 2022 to May 16, 2022

Musk: Doubt about spam accounts could scuttle Twitter deal

Headline from KING 5 Seattle, on the newest of 3 developments

At a Miami technology conference Monday, Musk estimated that at least 20% of Twitter’s 229 million accounts are spam bots, much higher than the company's estimate.

KING 5 Seattle's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Earlier updates in this story

Developments in this update

3 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

May 13, 2022
Elon Musk Can't Just Walk Away From His Twitter Deal by Paying a $1 Billion Breakup Fee
Headline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth ·
May 16, 2022
Elon Musk angling for cut-rate deal on Twitter, analysts say
Headline from CBS News ·
May 17, 2022Newest
Musk: Doubt about spam accounts could scuttle Twitter deal
Headline from KING 5 Seattle ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

110 articles, oldest first.

The Daily Dot
Elon Musk claims his Twitter deal is on hold because of bots—but it could be his plunging Tesla stock (opens The Daily Dot)
Published May 12, 2022
The Daily Dot's feed description
Elon Musk announced on Friday that his deal to acquire Twitter was on hold because of fake accounts, according to a tweet.
Fast Company
Elon Musk says his deal to buy Twitter is ‘on hold,’ sending TWTR shares crashing (opens Fast Company)
Published May 12, 2022
Fast Company's feed description
If Musk does end up pulling out of the deal, he could owe Twitter $1 billion.
Quartz
Backing out of the Twitter deal would be ugly for Elon Musk (opens Quartz)
Published May 12, 2022
Quartz's feed description
Twitter can make Musk to pay $1 billion or even force him to complete the acquisition
Breitbart News
Elon Musk Puts Twitter Deal 'On Hold,' Stock Plummets 15% in Pre-Market Trading (opens Breitbart News)
Published May 12, 2022
Breitbart News's feed description
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly placed his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter on hold pending an investigation into bot accounts on the platform. The stock has plummeted more than 15 percent in pre-market following Musk's announcement released on his Twitter account.
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Elon Musk Can't Just Walk Away From His Twitter Deal by Paying a $1 Billion Breakup Fee (opens NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth)
Published May 12, 2022
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth's feed description
Musk can’t just walk away from buying Twitter, despite a $1 billion reverse break fee attached to the deal.
The Buffalo News
Musk puts Twitter buy 'on hold,' casting doubt on $44B deal (opens The Buffalo News)
Published May 12, 2022
The Buffalo News's feed description
Elon Musk has put his plan to buy Twitter on temporary hold, raising fresh doubts about whether he’ll proceed with the $44 billion acquisition. In a tweet early Friday, the
PJ Media
BREAKING: Elon Musk Says Twitter Deal Is ‘Temporarily on Hold’ (opens PJ Media)
Published May 12, 2022
PJ Media's feed description
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s planned purchase of Twitter appears to have hit a snag regarding the number of fake accounts and bots on the platform. “Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending detai...
Forbes
Musk Could Try To ‘Get Out’ Of Twitter Acquisition After ‘Troubling’ Decision To Put Deal On Hold: Analysts (opens Forbes)
Published May 12, 2022
Forbes's feed description
Investors are left with “many questions and no concrete answers” about the deal going forward, analysts say.
Newsweek
Musk pauses Twitter deal on information known since 2019, shares plummet (opens Newsweek)
Published May 12, 2022
Newsweek's feed description
Billionaire tweets about 5 percent of Twitter users being fake—but Twitter have openly admitted this for years.
InsideEVs
Elon Musk Hits Pause On Twitter Deal Citing Fake Account Concerns (opens InsideEVs)
Published May 12, 2022
InsideEVs's feed description
The $44-billion buyout is now possibly in jeopardy after reports that under 5 percent of all accounts on the platform are fake.
FOX Business
Twitter CEO expects Elon Musk acquisition to close, addresses spending cuts (opens FOX Business)
Published May 12, 2022
FOX Business's feed description
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal responds to Elon Musk's surprise tweet.
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Twitter CEO Expects Musk Deal to Close But Is Preparing for Other Scenarios (opens NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth)
Published May 12, 2022
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth's feed description
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Friday that he still expects plans to sell the company to Elon Musk to close.
Investor's Business Daily
If Elon Musk Wants Out Of Twitter, He Has Several Good Excuses (opens Investor's Business Daily)
Published May 12, 2022
Investor's Business Daily's feed description
Twitter stock dropped as Elon Musk put his buyout on hold while he seeks to confirm that spam and fake accounts are less than 5% of users.
Lamag
Elon Musk Halts Twitter Deal to Investigate Fake Accounts (opens Lamag)
Published May 12, 2022
Lamag's feed description
”Still committed to acquisition,” Musk tweeted, but first he wants to make sure that the platform isn't just a haven for mindless spambots
Insider
Elon Musk's Twitter deal is looking shakier than ever. Here are all the ways the leveraged buyout could crumble. (opens Insider)
Published May 13, 2022
Insider's feed description
Musk is financing much of his Twitter takeover with loans secured against his Tesla stock. As Musk's shares fall, so do his chances of owning Twitter.
Insider
Trump says there is 'no way' Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter now (opens Insider)
Published May 13, 2022
Insider's feed description
Former President Donald Trump used Truth Social to respond to the news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Twitter buyout is temporarily on hold.
The Times of Israel
Elon Musk says he put $44 billion Twitter deal on hold over fake accounts (opens The Times of Israel)
Published May 13, 2022
The Times of Israel's feed description
Billionaire announces he's pausing purchase due to concerns social media giant underreporting spambots, but some believe he's raising issue as an excuse to back out of agreement
Insider
Elon Musk said his team is going to do a 'random sample of 100 followers' of Twitter to see how many of the platform's users are actually bots (opens Insider)
Published May 13, 2022
Insider's feed description
Elon Musk said his $44 billion Twitter deal is on hold pending his own research to confirm the company's estimate that less than 5% of users are fake.
Insider
Elon Musk said repricing his Twitter deal for less is 'not out of the question,' according to report (opens Insider)
Published May 15, 2022
Insider's feed description
Elon Musk reportedly said it was not "out of the question" that he might try to pay less to acquire Twitter at a conference in Miami on Monday.
Al Jazeera
Musk says Twitter deal at lower price is not out of the question (opens Al Jazeera)
Published May 15, 2022
Al Jazeera's feed description
Twitter’s stock has been dropping on concerns that Musk could walk away from the $44bn acquisition altogether.
Lamag
As Elon Musk and Twitter Battle Over Bots, Some Say Musk Wants Out (opens Lamag)
Published May 15, 2022
Lamag's feed description
Meanwhile, the uncertainty of the Musk-Twitter deal being on hold has sent stocks sledding as an analyst says it's 50-50 a deal will happen
Los Angeles Times
Elon Musk hints at negotiating down price on Twitter purchase (opens Los Angeles Times)
Published May 15, 2022
Los Angeles Times's feed description
Concern that Elon Musk would walk away from or seek to alter his $44-billion deal to buy Twitter has grown as he has questioned the company's user data.
CBS News
Elon Musk angling for cut-rate deal on Twitter, analysts say (opens CBS News)
Published May 15, 2022
CBS News's feed description
Tesla CEO's $44 billion offer for the social media company is "out the window," one Wall Street analyst says.
New York Times
Elon Musk says a lower price for Twitter is ‘not out of the question.’ (opens New York Times)
Published May 15, 2022
New York Times's feed description
Mr. Musk has been creating confusion around whether the Twitter deal will close, causing the social media company’s share price to fall.
NBC New York
Musk Reportedly Says Twitter Deal at Lower Price ‘Not Out of the Question' (opens NBC New York)
Published May 15, 2022
NBC New York's feed description
Elon Musk said a Twitter deal at a lower price wasn’t “out of the question,” Bloomberg reported.

Showing the first 25 of 58 headlines. ·

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.