HomeTechnology NewsElon Musk vs Parag Agrawal: What is the Twitter feud all about and what has transpired so far

Elon Musk vs Parag Agrawal: What is the Twitter feud all about and what has transpired so far

The Tesla founder responded to a series of tweets by Agrawal on spam accounts with a poop emoji

By CNBCTV18May 18, 2022, 4:01:50 PM IST IST (Updated)

Telsa CEO Elon Musk upped the ante on Twitter’s claim of having less than 5 percent spam accounts and said that the most-liked tweet on the micro-blogging site has hits of only 2-2.5 percent of the entire userbase.

“I have the honour of having the most-liked tweet of any living human,” Musk said, adding that the tweet was about him buying Coca Cola to “put the cocaine back in”.

The most-liked tweet had hit around 4.7 million likes, the billionaire entrepreneur said and that Twitter claimed its monetizable daily active usage or users was 217 million.

“Why is it that the most popular tweet is only 2-2.5 percent of the entire userbase?” Musk asked while speaking at the All-in Podcast.

This is a fresh blow to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal who on Monday claimed internal estimates of spam accounts in the last four quarters on Twitter were "well under 5 percent."

ALSO READ: Elon Musk says Twitter deal cannot move forward without clarity on spam accounts

The battle between Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk got murkier after the Tesla founder responded to a series of tweets by Agrawal on spam accounts with a poop emoji.

The post comes a month after Musk sealed a deal to acquire the micro-blogging website.

Musk said his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter could only move forward if the company showed public proof that less than 5 percent of the accounts on the social media platform are fake or spam, which he estimated to be 20 percent.


 Agrawal said Twitter's estimate had stayed the same since 2013 and could not be published externally as it needs to use both public and private information to determine whether an account is spam.

Musk’s response to Agrawal's defence of the company's methodology was a pile of turd.


 Musk also asked how advertisers would know what they’re getting for the investment they make in Twitter. “This is fundamental to the financial health of Twitter,” Musk said.

ALSO READ: Musk seeks to put in less money in new Twitter deal financing: sources

When Agrawal was appointed

Musk had said the US greatly benefits from the contribution of Indian talent when Agrawal was appointed Twitter CEO.

Responding to a tweet by Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, who pointed out that six US tech giants were under the leadership of Indian-origin CEOs, Musk said it was wonderful to see the success of Indians in the tech world.

Musk takes a dig at Agrawal

However, soon after the billionaire entrepreneur shared a meme on Agrawal with his face on former USSR dictator Joseph Stalin's body.

The image shared on December 1, 2021, also had Agrawal's predecessor Jack Dorsey standing next to him in the role of Nikolay Yezhov, who was a close associate of Stalin and was later assassinated under his orders.

In another pic in the meme shared by Elon Musk, Dorsey appears to go missing after a splash in the river.

Those who defended Agrawal

Following Musk’s poop emoji response to Agrawal’s tweet, Damian Bradfield, president of WeTransfer, said “intelligent, considered, thoughtful and constructive leadership” was fundamental to better financial health of Twitter and not a pile of poop.

ALSO READ: Twitter plunges 20% as Elon Musk says deal temporarily on hold