Elon Musk asks to delay start of Twitter court battle
3 Min Read
Billionaire Elon Musk's lawyers accuse Twitter's board of directors of wanting to expedite the $44 billion merger lawsuit and asks for delaying the trial.
-
Tesla chief Elon Musk (Reuters)
Tesla chief Elon Musk asked a Delaware court Friday to reject a bid by Twitter to put their $44 billion merger lawsuit on trial in September, instead asking to push it back until next year.
In a court document cited by US media, Musk's lawyers accuse Twitter's board of directors of wanting to expedite the case.
Twitter on Tuesday sued Musk for breaching the contract he signed to buy the tech firm, calling his exit strategy "a model of hypocrisy."
The suit filed in the US state of Delaware urges the court to order the billionaire to complete his deal to buy Twitter, arguing that no financial penalty could repair the damage he has caused.
Twitter wants to hold the trial in September so as not to prolong the period of uncertainty currently threatening the company. But Musk asked that the trial not start before February 13, citing the complexities involved.
It is noteworthy that the billionaire had agreed to buy Twitter at the end of April. But after weeks of threats, Musk last week tried to abandon the deal, accusing Twitter of "misleading" statements about the number of fake accounts.
Twitter said Musk was acting in bad faith, accusing him of asking for information about the company in order to then accuse them of providing “false statements” about their activities to regulators and investors.
Musk's legal team had warned last month that he could walk away from the negotiations table over acquiring Twitter if the big tech firm continues dismissing his demands to be more explicit about the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform.
Tesla CEO's legal team argued that the Twitter board, by failing to provide him with more detailed information on fake and spam accounts, breached the agreement between Musk and other investors to take over the big tech firm.
#ElonMusk has threatened to walk away from his $44 billion buyout deal for #Twitter Inc if the social media company fails to provide data on spam and fake accounts. pic.twitter.com/NVq1aSGNhi
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 7, 2022
That set the stage for a potentially lengthy court battle with Twitter, which has defended its fake account oversight and vowed to force Musk to complete the deal, which contained a $1 billion breakup fee.
The social media company says the number of fake accounts is less than 5%, a figure challenged by Musk, who says he believes the percentage is much higher.
His lawyers say proving that will require analyzing mountains of data.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in a business law court in Delaware.
