Former President Donald Trump predicted on Friday that Elon Musk won’t buy Twitter “at such a ridiculous price.”
Trump posted his comments on Truth Social — his microblogging site that was created to rival Twitter — just hours after Musk shocked Wall Street when he tweeted that his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter would be “on hold” pending a review of the number of bots and spam accounts on the site.
“There is no way Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter at such a ridiculous price, especially since realizing it is a company largely based on BOTS or Spam Accounts,” the 45th president wrote.
“Fake anyone?” added Trump, who was banned by the San Francisco-based social media company as well as other large platforms in the wake of the riots at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump, who has vowed not to return to Twitter even if Musk takes control of the company, continued: “By the time you get rid of them, if that can even be done, what do you have? Not much?”
He added: “If it weren’t for the ridiculous Billion Dollar breakup fee, Elon would have already been long gone.”
Trump then touted his own social media platform, which has been struggling since its launch due to technical glitches as well as the departure of top executives.
“Just my opinion, but Truth Social is MUCH better than Twitter and is absolutely exploding, incredible engagement!”
Musk, who recently pledged to allow Trump back onto Twitter should he assume control of the company, insisted in a follow-up tweet early Friday that he was “still committed” to following through on the buyout.
Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter was welcomed by supporters of Trump who say it will usher in a new era of unfettered speech.
But a Trump-friendly environment on Twitter could spell bad news for Truth Social, which was specifically created as an alternative to the mainstream micro-blogging platform.
The announced deal last month between Twitter and Musk apparently jolted Trump into posting on his own site — something that he had avoided doing since its launch.
Musk’s decision to put the Twitter acquisition “on hold” sent shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank check firm that is merging with Truth Social, surging by more than 5% on Friday.
Meanwhile, shares of Twitter were down by more than 7% at around noon Eastern time on Friday.
Shares of DWAC have been down since Musk announced last month that the Twitter board of directors accepted his buyout offer.
Musk’s tweet on Friday had Wall Street investors speculating that he was either looking for a way to back out of the agreement or was seeking to renegotiate a lower purchase price.
Analysts said Musk could be trying to rearrange the financing of the deal so he doesn’t have to be relying on leveraged shares of his electric car company, Tesla.
Concerns about Musk’s Twitter takeover and a broader tech sell-off have sent Tesla shares plummeting 29% over the past month.