♻️ Musk's Twitter Volley

If you know any chiropractors, now may be a good time to call them for whiplash recovery as it appears Elon Musk is looking to buy Twitter once again. That's right, the deal is back on. Two days before Elon Musk was set to be deposed on October 6 (something he'd already delayed twice), the Tesla CEO filed a letter with the SEC stating that he actually did want to buy Twitter as per the original deal. The court proceedings have stopped, but if this is another troll attempt by Musk (or if anything else goes awry) — the mega-case is back on for November. Before you wipe your brow and exhale a sigh of relief, skepticism still abounds.

Exhibit A: a New York Times piece from the day after Musk's announcement noted that the world's richest man was looking to get a discount on his initial purchase. Rather than the $44 billion he offered in April (at $54.20 per share), he was now jockeying for a $31 billion price. Does this suggest Musk is still unable to find financing? "I’m sure the banks aren’t as hot to do this in October at these terms as they were in April at these terms," Michael Maimone, a partner with Barnes & Thornburg, told The Times. And Twitter isn't having it either: "The intention of the company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share," the social media platform mentioned in a statement. 

• The Verge adds that Twitter was potentially willing to close at the lower price, but snuck in a few "self-serving" conditions that ended up scuttling the negotiation.

• Bloomberg adds more complexity here, saying that Musk's letter agreed to the original deal "pending receipt of the proceeds of the debt financing." However, "the original deal didn’t contain such a contingency."

Tesla Nosedive
All this is happening against the backdrop of Tesla's share price taking a nosedive … don't worry, Musk is still the world's richest person by a hefty margin. In one seven-day stretch of September, Tesla's share price dropped 16%, giving it the company's worst week since March 2020, reports CNBC. Tesla's share price does seem to fluctuate on Twitter deal news, but the recent slowdown seems to be more a reflection of the electric car maker missing production and delivery numbers.

The Verdict

Listen, we've seen this dance before. Although, things seem more serious this time as Musk will prove himself a bad-faith actor to the judge should he pull out of the deal again. That being said, this case is far from over.