Twitter and Elon Musk have been at the center of many conversations over the last several weeks. From declining membership on Twitter’s board to its controversial acquisition, Twitter and Musk have now introduced the world to the next saga of their rocky relationship.

In a tweet, Musk wrote that he put the multi-billion-dollar deal on a temporary hold after a report revealed that the social media network contained less than five percent of fake or spam Twitter accounts.

The Proverbial Yield Sign

The Tesla CEO tweeted that he wanted to see Twitter’s calculations to confirm that the number of fake accounts is accurate.

“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk said in the tweet.

In a follow-up tweet, however, he noted his continued commitment to the acquisition.

According to the Reuters report linked in Musk’s tweet, of the 229 million Twitter users who saw advertising in the first quarter of 2022, less than five percent were false or spam accounts

The Deal

The original acquisition had a price of $54.30 per share, totaling an estimated $44 billion. At the purchase, Twitter’s stock was put on hold. However, since the announcement of the temporary hold, Twitter’s share price plummeted by 20 percent as of Friday morning.

“Twitter shares initially fell more than 20% in premarket trading, but after Musk, the chief executive of electric car market Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), sent a second tweet saying he remained committed to the deal, they regained some ground,” Reuters reports.

Although the announcement of the acquisition became public on April 25, the social media giant’s board did not indicate a specific deadline associated with the official closing of the deal. The transaction is merely expected to be completed before the year ends.

What's Next?

As customary with Musk, he did not provide many details concerning the hold. The tech billionaire often releases non-descript messages and unconfirmed plans without any specificity to the information.

In the past, he has noted that he has plans to take the company private and stick to his goal of “restoring” freedom of speech by giving access to those who were previously banned, namely former President Donald Trump.

The current pause is the latest hurdle in the official takeover of Twitter, and existing users can move forward as usual.