Musk, Twitter deal is off

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Billionaire Elon Musk called off his deal to buy social media company Twitter, according to a filing on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Skadden Arps attorney Mike Ringler said in a letter to Twitter's chief legal officer that “Twitter has not complied with its contractual obligations." For nearly two months, the company has failed to provide Musk with information about fake or spam accounts, the letter said.

The news sent Twitter stock tumbling 5% in after-hours trading. The stock has fallen sharply since the board accepted Musk's offer to buy the company in April for $54.20 a share. On the day of the announcement, Twitter closed at $51.70 a share. On Friday, it closed at $36.81.

Progressive nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen said Musk terminating the deal “is what a win for free speech actually looks like.” Musk in April tweeted "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means."

Attorney Richard Signorelli said he hopes Musk pays a “hefty penalty” to get out of the deal. In another tweet, Signorelli identified himself as a Twitter shareholder and said he is glad Musk is trying to back out.

Illinois Congressman Chuy García tweeted at the billionaire Friday, telling him “don’t let the door hit you on your way out.” García previously spoke out against the $44 billion deal on Twitter.

Conservatives rejoiced in April when Elon Musk made an unsolicited $44 billion bid for Twitter, vowing to restore “free speech” on the social media platform.

The response was more muted late Friday when it became clear that Musk would not be the savior the political right had hoped for.

In a regulatory filing, Musk said he was terminating the Twitter deal over a disagreement about how many spam accounts are on the platform.

Tom Fitton’s take? The conservative activist and president of Judicial Watch said Musk was ditching the Twitter deal because the company refused to disclose details of “its censorship operation.”

USA tweeted: “Maybe Elon never intended to buy Twitter at all. Maybe he just wanted to expose it.”

Donald Trump Jr. declared that Musk walking away from the deal meant Twitter was caught lying about spam accounts. “So basically Twitter has a huge amount of spam accounts – way more than they let on – and has gotten busted for it!! !”

“Bottom line,” tweeted Florida GOP congressional candidate Lavern Spicer, “Elon Musk isn’t going to save us.”

Only actor James Woods sounded a more critical note, tweeting: “Musk failed us.” He later deleted the tweet.

It was a far cry from the rousing way conservatives cheered on Musk at the start.