Elon Musk warns his £38bn Twitter deal could be blocked by Joe Biden: US president’s officials plan to probe deal over national security concerns
Bad taste: Elon Musk’s £38billion takeover of Twitter ran into more trouble
Elon Musk’s £38billion takeover of Twitter ran into more trouble after it was suggested it could be blocked by President Biden.
The US president’s officials are considering probing the deal on national security grounds, according to a report yesterday.
Shares of Twitter fell after Bloomberg said the takeover could be reviewed on its foreign backers, including Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and China-linked cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
Musk’s businesses also raise broader concerns, including SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network.
US officials are thought to be uncomfortable with the 51-year-old tycoon’s recent threat to stop providing Starlink satellite service to Ukraine, as well as his increasingly pro-Russia stance on social media .
Musk, the world’s richest man with a fortune of £185billion, admitted this week that he was “clearly paying too much” for Twitter.
The South African appeared to approve of a social media post suggesting he would be ‘hysterical’ if the US government saved him from having to buy the site. In response to the tweet, he posted a laughing face and a “100%” emoji.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said it was “50-50” if a formal investigation was launched, adding that “there was definitely enough smoke for there to be a fire”.
It comes amid reports claiming Musk would get rid of three-quarters of Twitter’s 7,500 employees after the takeover.
