Elon Musk says Twitter deal should go ahead

Elon Musk said that if Twitter Inc. could provide its method of sampling 100 accounts and how it confirmed that the accounts are real, his $44 billion deal to buy the company should proceed

Elon Musk says the Twitter deal can only go through if Twitter can provide evidence of the number of real accounts on the platform. (REUTERS)

Elon Musk said that if Twitter Inc. could provide its method of sampling 100 accounts and how it confirmed that the accounts are real, his $44 billion deal to buy the company should proceed on its original terms.

"However, if it turns out that their SEC filings are materially false, then it should not," Musk tweeted early on Saturday.

In response to a Twitter user asking whether the U.S. SEC was probing "dubious claims" by the company, Musk tweeted "Good question, why aren't they?".

Twitter declined to comment on the tweet when contacted by Reuters.

Twitter on Thursday dismissed Musk's claim that he was hoodwinked into signing the deal to buy the social media company, saying that it was "implausible and contrary to fact".

"According to Musk, he — the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers — was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement. That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds," the filing released by Twitter on Thursday said.

Musk filed a countersuit Twitter on July 29, escalating his legal fight against the social media company over his bid to walk away from the $44 billion purchase.