Letters | Elon Musk should realise Twitter takeover is a strategic blunder

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Billionaire Elon Musk seems to be beating a strategic retreat from his bid to take over Twitter (“Elon Musk says Twitter’s lack of information on bots breaches terms of their merger deal”, June 6). If not, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who Musk has said holds a massive short position on Tesla shares, may find himself laughing all the way to the bank.

Balancing free speech and the need for some censorship will become a perpetually blistering headache for Musk if he takes over the social media company. The existing Twitter management may be too preoccupied with how to spend and invest their millions to be of much help.

Of course, ditching the Twitter deal will come at a cost. Twitter investors are suing Musk, alleging he deliberately drove down the company’s share price, while the company itself may sue him for reneging on the deal if and when he does. While the amounts involved are not likely to be larger than the US$44 billion involved in the Twitter takeover, the whole saga has taken its toll on Tesla’s stock value. Musk’s strategic blunder may prove more expensive than anticipated.