Elon Musk says he has a plan B if his Twitter offer is rejected

What's Elon Musk's next move if Twitter rejects his offer to buy it? He's cryptically teasing a plan B.

Musk spoke at the TED 2022 conference on Thursday afternoon after revealing he made an offer to buy Twitter for $43 billion. But at the conference, the Tesla CEO admitted he's "not sure that I will actually be able to acquire" the company, even though he said he can "technically afford it" and has "sufficient assets."

But when Musk was asked if there's a plan B should the Twitter board reject his offer, he took a long pause before responding, "There is." He didn't provide more information, saying this is "for another time."

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Musk said buying Twitter is "not a way to make money" but is driven by his belief that it's "very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech." He also said he wants to open source Twitter's algorithm and argued the company should be "very reluctant to delete things and be very cautious with permanent bans."

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk said he was making his "best and final offer" to buy the company and that if it's rejected, he would "need to reconsider my position as a shareholder." He is currently the company's largest outside shareholder with a 9.2 percent stake. Musk also said he believes Twitter "needs to be transformed as a private company," promising to "unlock" the company's "extraordinary potential."

Twitter said Thursday its board would "carefully review" Musk's offer to "determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders."