Twitter is gearing up for its most ambitious quarter of user growth, leaders of the social media company's consumer products division told staff in an internal meeting on Tuesday that was heard by Reuters.

Twitter is targeting growth of 13 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU), or users who see advertising, this quarter, according to leaders at the meeting.

Although Twitter added 20 million users in the second quarter of 2020 at the height of the pandemic when compared to the previous quarter, the 13 million target is the highest goal the team has ever set, leaders told staff.

Detailing progress, executives said the company has so far achieved 8.5 million in user growth, which they said was one of the best growth quarters to date.

The San Francisco-based company is maintaining ambitious growth targets as its deal to be acquired by billionaire Elon Musk remains uncertain.

Musk in a filing on Monday warned Twitter that he might walk away from the $44 billion deal if the company does not provide data to allow him to independently verify the proportion of spam and fake accounts on the social media platform.

The company has said in public filings that spam and fake accounts represent fewer than 5% of quarterly monetizable daily active users.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

In April, Twitter reported that it had added 12 million new users during the first quarter. It also withdrew goals to reach 315 million users and $7.5 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2023, citing the pending acquisition by Musk.