Elon Musk threatens to tear up Twitter deal over 'material breach'

Bengaluru－Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk warned Twitter on Monday that he might walk away from his $44 billion deal to acquire the social media company if it fails to provide data on spam and fake accounts that he seeks.

This was not the first time that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had suggested publicly his acquisition of Twitter may not happen. But the warning, delivered in a letter from Musk's lawyers to Twitter's chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, marked an escalation. It accused Twitter of being in "material breach" of its deal obligations.

Musk's threats to tear up the deal have coincided with a plunge in many technology stocks－including Tesla, the electric carmaker that he leads－amid concerns over an economic slowdown and higher interest rates in the face of raging inflation.