New York Post recently reported that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is planning a countersuit against Twitter. The CEO has decided he no longer wants to buy the social media platform, and he has limited time to act.
Twitter hopes that its case against Musk can be carried out quickly, and as soon as possible. In fact, the social media company's lawyers are pushing for a four-day trial that will start in September 2022. However, Musk doesn't want the festivities to begin until at least February 2023. The Tesla CEO says it will take a significant amount of time for discovery.
According to New York Post, sources close to the Musk vs. Twitter case claim that the CEO is planning to sue Twitter in an attempt to get more time. Essentially, the sources said Musk wants to convince a Delaware Court of Chancery judge to provide time for his lawyers to round up information related to Twitter's bot and spam account situation.
Musk claims that the primary reason he no longer wants to buy Twitter for the previously agreed-upon $44 billion is due to the social media site's bot population. It seems the Tesla CEO knew full well or was at the very least confident that Twitter had an issue with bots, and one of the reasons he was going to buy the platform was to clean up the spam and fake account situation. However, he says Twitter wasn't straight with him or the public, and there are many more bots than the company has revealed. Musk is also unhappy with the means by which Twitter analyzes its bot situation.
According to Musk, Twitter should have been honest in its 10-K filing about the number of bots and fake or scam accounts on its platform. Not long after the CEO made an unsolicited offer to buy the platform, he was already pushing back against Twitter, poking fun at the platform on the platform itself, seemingly trying to influence people and "call the shots," and making it pretty clear he wasn't going to follow through with the deal.
Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk last week. The social media company's lawyers wrote that Musk attempted to “trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.” Twitter hopes to force Musk to pay the agreed-upon $54.20 per share, though the Tesla CEO believes he should be able to terminate the deal due to Twitter's lack of transparency.
The first hearing associated with the case is scheduled for today, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. It will be heard by Kathleen McCormick, who Teslarati says has forced a buyout in the past. The hearing will likely determine whether a four-day trial will come as soon as Twitter's lawyers are hoping, or if Musk will get his wish to delay.
