Elon Musk’s friends begged him not to buy Twitter: ‘Oh my god — another huge problem’

Elon Musk's friends worried the tech mogul already had enough problems on his plate before offering to buy Twitter.

Several of the Tesla CEO's friends privately advised him against buying the social media company after they realized he was actually serious about the acquisition, and now Musk is trying to back out of the $44 billion agreement after ignoring their advice, reported Axios.

"I think I had the reaction of most people," said LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman who worked with Musk in the early days of PayPaul. "It was like, 'Oh my God, another huge problem. He's already dealing with a large number.'"

Hoffman's venture capital firm Greylock declined Musk's offer to co-invest in Twitter, but he declined to criticize his friend's move into social media.

READ MORE: 'Surprising his lawyers went along with this': CNN legal expert thinks special master ploy may blow up in Trump's face

“I was one of the people who thought you couldn’t do both Tesla and SpaceX and clearly was wrong," Hoffman said. "Elon’s right that Twitter needs innovation.”

Other sources close to Musk told Axios they don't doubt his sincerity about removing restrictions on content, and they agree he has the ability to improve the platform, but they're concerned that dealing with unforeseen issues related to Twitter will distract from more important issues -- including SpaceX and Tesla.