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VOA新闻杂志2022--Why Does Elon Musk Want to Buy Twitter Again?

时间:2022-10-06 23:35:50

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Why Does Elon Musk1 Want to Buy Twitter Again?

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, again says he wants to buy the social media company Twitter.

Last April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Musk said at the time that his goal was to shape the service into a place for free speech.

Three months later, Musk withdrew his offer saying Twitter did not provide him with enough information about the number of false, or fake, accounts.

The agreement to buy Twitter requires Musk to pay the company $1 billion if he does not complete the deal. Twitter, however, opened a legal action, or lawsuit2, to force Musk to close the deal.

This week, Musk told Twitter in a letter that he wanted to do the deal as they had agreed to in April. He also asked for an end to the legal action that will start in less than two weeks in the state of Delaware.

Twitter answered that it plans to close the deal at $54.20 per share after receiving Musk's letter. The social media company did not say whether it would end the lawsuit against Musk.

Andrew Jennings is a professor at Brooklyn Law School. He told the Associated Press, "I don't think Twitter will give up its trial date on just Musk's word — it's going to need more certainty about closing." Jennings noted3 that Twitter may also be worried that Musk may be acting4 simply to delay the legal action.

Musk has sought, and failed, to postpone5 the process two times earlier.

Musk's argument against the Twitter deal

Musk says Twitter misrepresented how it measures false accounts on its site.

In July, Musk argued that he could end the deal without penalty because the number of false accounts was much higher than Twitter's estimate of less than 5 percent of users. The number of active accounts is important for advertising6 rates and the overall value of the service.

But Chancellor7 Kathaleen McCormick, the Delaware court's head judge, appeared set to center the case on the deal between Musk and Twitter and possible changes that could end it since the deal was signed in April.

In the same month, a former chief of security at Twitter took legal action against the company.

Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, accused the company of lying about its efforts to control false accounts and strengthen its cyber defenses.

Why did Musk change his mind now?

It was not immediately clear why Musk chose to drop the fight in court. But Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia University said he was not surprised by Musk's decision. He said, "On the legal merits, his case didn't look that strong."

Musk is to make a sworn statement in court on Thursday. And Talley added, "a lot of uncomfortable facts were going to come out."

The Tesla and SpaceX founder8 also faces possible rising costs. If he lost the trial, the judge could not only force him to close the deal but also could order interest payments that would increase its cost.

Musk and his representatives have not answered questions from news organizations about the latest offer to close the Twitter deal.

A user of Twitter, Musk wrote on the social media website last night: "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app." He did not provide any more details.

Words in This Story

certainty - n. a fact about which there is no doubt

merit - n. value or worth

uncomfortable - adj. causing a feeling of being embarrassed or uneasy

accelerant - n. something that makes thing move faster


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1 musk v6pzO     
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫
参考例句:
  • Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
  • She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。
2 lawsuit A14xy     
n.诉讼,控诉
参考例句:
  • They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
  • He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。
3 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
4 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
5 postpone rP0xq     
v.延期,推迟
参考例句:
  • I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
  • She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。
6 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
7 chancellor aUAyA     
n.(英)大臣;法官;(德、奥)总理;大学校长
参考例句:
  • They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
  • He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。
8 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

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