A new spate of text messages between Elon Musk and Twitter executives, close friends, potential investors and the Silicon Valley Brothers sheds light on how the world’s richest man spent $44 billion (about 3 million dollars) to buy the social media company. 58,100 crore) deal was done. Came about – and ended up in court.
The texts reveal who wanted to be part of the buyout and reveal inner circle views on who should run the company if Musk owns it. They were disclosed as part of Twitter’s lawsuit for Musk to follow-through on his $54.20 (about Rs 4,400)-per-share offer, which is set to go to trial in Delaware Chancery Court next month.
Among several texts, Musk revealed that he has “a mild case of COVID” at the end of March, usually “by ~3 p.m.” and no longer has a personal assistant.
Here are 10 behind-the-scenes glimpses.
1. Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter chief executive, worked to get Musk on the board shortly after active investors began agitating for change in the company in 2020.
“I did my best to get you on our board, and the board said no,” Dorsey wrote. “That’s about the time I decided I needed to work to quit, the harder it was for me.”
Dorsey is “Jack Jack” on Elon’s phone.
2. Musk’s relationship with Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal went from friendly to cold within a week. On April 5, Agarwal tweeted that Musk was being appointed to Twitter’s board – and obtained Musk’s approval for the language of the tweet.
But by April 9, the tone had changed dramatically. Agarwal slammed Musk over his tweet defaming the company.
“You are free to tweet ‘Twitter is dying’ or anything about Twitter – but it is my responsibility to let you know that it is not helping me improve Twitter in the current context. I Just want to provide your perspective on the level of inner distraction and what it’s like [sic] hurting our ability to work.”
“What did you do this week?” Musk backed away.
“I am not joining the board. This is a waste of time,” he texted 40 seconds later.
“Will offer to take Twitter private,” he texted 15 seconds later.
3. A few minutes later, Musk messaged Chair Brett Taylor about fixing Twitter. The texts reveal that he already knew about Twitter’s bot problem, which he would later cite as a reason for abandoning the deal.
“It’s hard to do as a public company, because purging fake users would make the numbers look awful, so should be restructured as a private company,” Musk wrote. “It’s Jack’s opinion too.”
4. On April 20, Musk texted Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
“Any interested in participating in the Twitter deal?” He asked. Alison said yes. Musk asked how much.
“A billion… or whatever you recommend,” Alison replied. Musk had recommended $2 billion (about Rs 16,300 crore). On April 24, Ellison said, “Since you think I should come in at least $2 billion. I’m in for $2 billion.”
5. Many of Musk’s friends had ideas about what Musk should work on. Investor Bill Lee suggests Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital. Jason Calacanis Said That “Twitter CEO Is My Dream Job.”
6. Joe was a fan of the Rogan deal. “I really hope you find Twitter,” the external podcaster texted. “If you do, we should be throwing one hell of a party.”
7. Steve Jurvetson suggests Musk hire Emil Michael, former chief business officer of Uber Technologies, and texts Michael’s LinkedIn account.
“I don’t have a LinkedIn account,” Musk replied.
8. CBS’ Gail King asked Musk for an interview in April, saying that Twitter buying what kids called a “gangsta move” and suggesting that Oprah Winfrey would like to join the board. King said he needed a Twitter edit button.
“The Twitter edit button is coming,” Musk replied.
9. Musk warned Calacanis against offering “Randos” to invest in the deal.
It “seems like I’m desperate,” he said.
Calacanis said he only wanted to be an assistant: “You know if I’m riding or dying bro.”
10. In March, crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried tried to get in touch with Musk through an aide to discuss his involvement in a deal for Twitter. Musk appeared uninterested – and unaware of Bankman-Fried’s wealth, he asked, “Does he have a large sum of money?”
He eventually warmed to the idea, “unless I have a painstaking blockchain debate.”
It is not clear whether they met.
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