Elon Musk says it’s ‘easy’ to raise money, so where are his Twitter investors?
Elon Musk is trying to cut back on expensive unsecured loans tied to his $44 billion Twitter purchase by selling $3 billion worth of Twitter stock. according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. But despite what Musk has recently said about his “track record” of raising money, the paper claims investors aren’t immediately lining up to get their hands on the bits of Twitter he’s offering.
Sources tell WSJ that the billionaire’s team sent emails in December to potential investors trying to raise $3 billion to buy “an unsecured portion” of Twitter’s $13 billion in debt with the highest interest. The WSJ reports that some lenders “denied against terms” due to Twitter’s financial condition, but also notes that it was unable to determine the current state of fundraising talks.
When asked on Twitter or the WSJ‘s report is correct, Musk simply replied, “No.”
In stark contrast to the reports, Musk boasted about his ability to secure strong investments during his securities fraud lawsuit. During his testimony on Tuesday, the billionaire bragged that it is “relatively easy” for him to bring in investments:
Every time we’ve raised money, it’s been at a higher price. So investors have done extremely well. That’s why it’s relatively easy for me to get investor support because my track record is extremely good… It’s true to say that I probably have the best track record with investors.
Shortly after acquiring the platform in November, Musk complained about losing $4 million per day and did not rule out the possibility of bankruptcy.
Correction January 25, 22:14 ET: An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated that Musk was offering Tesla stock at $54.20 per share when it was Twitter. We regret the mistake.