In an exclusive interview on CNBC, billionaire investor Carl Icahn lashed back at Motorola, calling the company's management "terrible" and saying "earnings were so bad that the company had no measure of what they were doing." "
"We're one of the largest shareholders," Icahn told CNBC's David Faber. "We don't think it's well-managed. We don't believe the board has done a good job. Today a lot of things came out --obfuscated the situation so much, that I felt I should come on."
Icahn's interview came as the battle of words escalated between the investor and Motorola, the big maker of wireless handsets. Earlier Wednesday,Motorola urged its stockholders to reject Icahn’s bid join the company’s board, saying the "Board of Directors does not believe Carl Icahn treats public company directorship with the appropriate level of seriousness and commitment."
The Motorola shareholder vote is scheduled for May 7.