- Elon Musk said he has a backup plan in the event that Twitter rejects his purchase attempt.
- Musk previously said his bid was his "best and final offer."
- When asked to explain his 'Plan B' strategy, Musk said that would be "for another time, I think."
Twitter's largest individual shareholder, Elon Musk, said he has a backup plan in the event that the board rejects his bid to take over the company at a $43 billion valuation.
"You've said that you won't go higher. Is there a plan B?" asked Chris Anderson, the head curator of the TED conference, during an interview with Musk at the organization's annual summit on Thursday.
"There is," Musk replied flatly, eliciting laughter from the audience.
"I think we I think we would like to hear a little bit about Plan B," Anderson pressed.
"For another time, I think," Musk said.
In his letter to Twitter's board less than a day earlier, Musk said his bid of $54.20 was his "best and final" offer.
"I am not playing the back-and-forth game," he added. "I have moved straight to the end."
Earlier in the conversation, Musk acknowledged a possibility that he may not be able to acquire the company, but said he could "technically" afford it.
"I have sufficient assets," he said.
With $3.3 billion of Twitter shares already in hand, Musk would need nearly $40 billion in additional cash to complete the deal on his own. Musk told Anderson that he hoped to bring along as many existing shareholders as are allowable under that law.
Musk is estimated to have cash accounts currently worth $2.95 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates.
Musk is also known to pledge his Tesla shares as collateral for a loan, capped at 25% of his stake's total value. That arrangement could put him in the neighborhood of $40 billion if he chooses to maximize that option.