Musk’s Circle Tried To Talk Him Out Of Buying Twitter, Report Says

Topline

Friends of the world’s wealthiest man Elon Musk tried to convince him not to buy Twitter once they realized he was serious about the acquisition, sources told Axios, as Musk tries to back out of his $44 billion social media company in the world’s most high-profile product return.

Elon Musk speaks to journalists in Norway last month.

NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Here are some key facts

Elon Musk’s billionaire buddy Reid Hoffman, who was an early PayPal employee alongside Musk and later co-founded LinkedIn, told Axios his reaction to the Twitter deal was, “‘Oh my God, another huge problem” on Axios’ The Story of How it Happened podcast.

Axios was also told by Musk’s close friends that they worried about the impact of Musk’s acquisition on SpaceX and Tesla. Musk is CEO at both Tesla and SpaceX.

Hoffman told Axios his venture firm Greylock Partners declined to take part in Twitter’s financing, but expressed optimism about Musk’s ability to lead at Twitter, citing his “ability to get through kind of death defying, where you think, ‘Oh my God, this isn’t gonna work,’ and to just keep going at it.”

The Key Background

Musk disclosed April 4 he bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter, which announced later that month it accepted Musk’s $44 billion unsolicited offer to buy the company. Musk is one of the platform’s most popular and polarizing users and a sharp critic of Twitter’s content moderation policies. Although the unlikely love affair was brief, Musk unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his purchase agreement. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk just days later in an attempt to force the deal through. In Delaware, Musk will meet Twitter in a five-day trial.

SME Valuation

Musk’s estimated worth is $270.4 billion. This fortune amounts to $120 billion more than the next biggest. Hoffman is worth a comparably meager $1.9 billion and has served on Microsoft’s board since the company acquired LinkedIn in 2016.