美国国家公共电台 NPR--Musk says he's having second thoughts about buying Twitter

Musk¹ says he's having second thoughts about buying Twitter

Transcript²

Elon Musk has put the brakes on his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, saying the site has too many fake accounts. But is the world's richest man just hoping to negotiate a better deal?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Elon Musk has a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. But now, apparently³, he has doubts. Such serious doubts, so he says, that he might kill the deal. Or maybe Elon Musk is being Elon Musk and trolling for a better bargain. And all of this is playing out, where else? - but on Twitter. I spoke⁴ with NPR tech correspondent Shannon Bond to understand what's going on.

SHANNON BOND, BYLINE⁵: Musk said at a conference in Miami on Monday that he's concerned about the number of fake accounts on Twitter.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELON MUSK: You know, at the end of the day, acquiring - it has to be fixable, and fixable, you know, with reasonable time frame and without revenues collapsing⁶ along the way and all that sort of stuff. And so, you know, I really need to see how these things are being calculated.

BOND: But, you know, for years, Twitter has said it estimates less than 5% of accounts are fake. But on Tuesday, Musk demanded public proof of that number. Otherwise, he said, quote, "This deal cannot move forward." Remember, he initiated⁷ this deal. Also, without providing any evidence, he claimed 20% of accounts may be fake. Then one of Musk's followers⁸ tweeted that the Securities and Exchange Commission should look into this. Musk tweeted in response, hello @SECGov, anyone home? SECGov is the agency's official account. And, Leila, that's the same agency that, in 2018, fined Musk $20 million over his false claims on Twitter that he had funding to take Tesla private.

FADEL: OK, So is this a bluff⁹ to get a better deal, or is Musk trying to pull out?

BOND: Well, if he does walk away, he'd almost certainly be on the hook to pay Twitter a $1 billion breakup fee. And experts I've spoken with say Twitter could even maybe potentially sue him for further damages. Now, Musk is relying on his Tesla shares to finance this deals, and the price of those has fallen sharply. So many observers speculate Musk intends to renegotiate his price for Twitter. And at Monday's conference, Musk suggested he might do just that.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MUSK: In making the Twitter offer, I was obviously reliant upon the truth and accuracy of their public filings. And if those filings are not accurate, it's simply not - that's - it's not - you can't pay the same price for something that is much worse than they claimed.

BOND: But, Leila, Musk waived¹⁰ due diligence in doing this deal, and that's like buying a home without doing an inspection¹¹.

FADEL: So what impact is the drama having on Twitter?

BOND: Well, its share price is way down, and there are worries it could tank even further if Musk backs out. And this is just adding to massive uncertainty¹² and disruption for the company. Twitter has frozen hiring. It's cutting spending. Several top executives are leaving. So whether Musk goes through with the deal or walks away, the whole process risks leaving Twitter weaker than it was before - damaged.

FADEL: OK. So to recap, a little over a month ago, Musk offered to buy Twitter. Twitter initially¹³ resisted, later accepted. Now Musk is the one with cold feet, right?

BOND: Yes, right. And Twitter says it's still committed to getting this deal done at the price Musk agreed to. CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted a lengthy¹⁴ rebuttal to Musk's criticism. Musk replied on Twitter with a poop emoji.

FADEL: NPR's Shannon Bond, thank you so much.

BOND: Thanks, Leila.

1 musk   

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

7 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

10 waived   

v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• He has waived all claim to the money. 他放弃了索取这笔钱的权利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I waived the discourse, and began to talk of my business. 我撇开了这个话题，开始讲我的事情。 来自辞典例句

11 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

12 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

13 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

14 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。