Elon Musk challenges Twitter CEO to a ‘public debate’ about bots

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Maybe Musk doesn't want to go to court. After having his lawyers spin up a 165-page argument about why he no longer wants to go through with his $44 billion deal to buy the platform, Musk suggested that the whole thing be made public.

“I hereby challenge @paraga to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage,” Musk proclaims to all 102 million members of his forum. “Let him prove to the public that Twitter has <5%>

I hereby challenge @paraga to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage.



Let him prove to the public that Twitter has <5%>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2022

Musk immediately pinned the message to his profile, and then asked his followers if they believed that less than five percent of users were fake. The two options are either "Yes" with three robot emojis or "Lmaooo no"

The majority of users chose the "Lmaoo no" option. The results of the poll will most likely be in Musk's favor. It's not likely that this latest stunt will get a response from either Agrawal or Taylor since the actual dispute is scheduled for a hearing in a couple of months.

The lawyers for the company have already laid out what they think of Musk's bot accusations, which they claim he got from a website called Botometer. They aren't experts in corporate laws and contracts, they might not have what it takes to swing an argument through social media.

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