Twitter shares signal skepticism for Musk's offer

Elon Musk's non-binding offer to buy Twitter — revealed Thursday morning — didn't inspire enthusiasm in the social media company's shareholders, signaling they're skeptical of whether a deal will get done.

Twitter's stock closed down 1.7% on Thursday at $45.08, well below Musk's offered price of $54.20 per share, or $43 billion in cash.

• Why it matters: Musk could deliver a seismic shake-up to the social media landscape, for better or worse — but only if he can get a deal done. And it's far from clear that he will push it across the finish line.

State of play: "I'm not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it," Musk said Thursday in a previously scheduled interview at the TED2022 conference in Vancouver, Canada.

• He probably didn't help his case when he said, "I don't care about the economics [of the deal] at all."
• Twitter's board is also considering adopting a "poison pill" that would block Musk from acquiring more than 15% of the company, hence scuttling any prospective takeover attempt, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Yes, but: As his fans would note, when Musk puts his mind to something, he often gets it done — sooner or later. At least some aren't convinced he'll fall short.

• "Ultimately, we believe this soap opera will end with Musk owning Twitter," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote Thursday.
• "It would be hard for any other bidders/consortium to emerge, and the Twitter board will be forced likely to accept this bid and/or run an active process to sell Twitter. "

What we're watching: Whether Musk makes the necessary financial moves to show he's serious about getting a deal done.

Go deeper: Musk on free speech