Elon Musk hit back on Twitter Friday after the social media giant partially blamed its second-quarter earnings on uncertainty surrounding the Tesla CEO’s pending $44 billion takeover.
“I’m rubber, they’re glue,” Musk tweeted.
The social media giant reported total revenue of $1.18 billion in the second quarter, including advertising revenue of $1.08 billion and subscription revenue and another $101 million. Economists polled by Refinitiv had expected total revenue of $1.32 billion.
Twitter said it faced $33 million in costs during the quarter related to the acquisition. In addition to Musk’s deal, the company cited “advertising industry headwinds associated with the macro environment.”
I’m rubber, they’re glue
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2022
Earlier this month, Musk announced that it would be terminating the deal, claiming Twitter is “in material breach of various provisions” of the deal and “appears to have made false and misleading representations” when it accepted Musk’s takeover offer on April 25. Musk has disputed Twitter’s internal estimates that spam and fake accounts make up less than 5% of its users.
In response to accusations from Musk and his team, Twitter called the “purported termination” of the deal “invalid and unlawful” and a “repudiation of its obligations under the agreement.” Twitter is also suing Musk, accusing him of refusing to “honor his obligations to Twitter and its shareholders because the agreement he signed no longer serves his personal interests.”
A trial in the legal battle is scheduled for October.
Twitter declined to provide financial guidance and said it will not host an earnings call because of the Musk acquisition. It added that shareholder approval is the only remaining regulatory approval or condition preventing completion of the merger.
At press time, Twitter shares are trading around $39 each, well below Musk’s original offer of $54.20 per share. Shares are down more than 7% year to date.