Threat to bin Twitter deal over bots makes Elon Musk look like a time-waster

theguardian.com:

Last month Elon Musk said he was putting his $44bn bid for Twitter “on hold”. Now the Tesla billionaire is switching from neutral to reverse gear, or at least threatening to do so. A legal letter to Twitter’s board says he reserves his right “to terminate the merger agreement”.

This development will surprise precisely nobody because Musk has been bleating about Twitter’s bots – meaning spam and fake accounts – almost from the day he signed the formal takeover terms. The point is that the quarrel is manufactured. If Musk was truly worried about how the company measures the number of bots on its site, the opportunity to demand detailed information was before he signed on the line in April.

That, at least, is how the outside world understands the takeover game. In claiming “a clear material breach” by Twitter of its obligations, Musk’s lawyers could probably spin out this saga for years. More likely, the tactic seems designed to weary Twitter’s board to a point at which it either agrees to cut the takeover price or is happy to call the whole thing off. At $39, down 3% in early trading on Monday, Twitter’s share price says the chance of this transaction happening at the agreed $54.20 is small and getting smaller.

Take your pick from any number of explanations for Musk’s apparent change of heart. The most likely is the slide in tech valuations that has made $54.20 look far too generous. Or perhaps he just enjoys the mischief. Whatever the truth, Musk comes across as a monumental time-waster.

One hopes Twitter’s board does what it has said it will do and tries to hold Musk to the agreed terms. It’s not a risk-free option, however. A court battle with the untameable and unpredictable Musk would be a serious distraction for years,