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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk appeared less certain about his offer to buy Twitter stating that he was “not sure” he’d be able to buy Twitter (NYSE: TWTR).
The comments came hours after a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing revealed that he offered to acquire the company for $54.20 per share, or about $43 billion.
Twitter confirmed it had received the bid but its board must still review the offer, which values shares much lower than the $70 they reached last summer. But Musk had said the offer would be his “best and final” one.
At the TED 2022 conference in Vancouver, Musk told TED’s Chris Anderson that “there is” a “Plan B” if his current offer were rejected. He declined to elaborate.
Musk affirmed that he could secure funding for the purpose. “I have sufficient assets,” Musk said. “I can do it if possible.”
Musk added about the earlier Tesla take-private tweet, “funding was actually secured” and explained why he does not “have respect for the SEC in that situation.”
He even used profanities for some at the agency, calling them “those bastards.”
Musk had earlier written a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor stating, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” he wrote.
Inputs from CNBC