Court battle to open in Musk, Twitter buyout fight

FE Team | Published: July 19, 2022 22:43:22

WASHINGTON, July 19 (AFP): Elon Musk and Twitter will face off Tuesday in the first court hearing over the Tesla chief's move to abandon their $44 billion buyout deal, a case with massive stakes for both sides.
Twitter wants a judge to force Musk to complete the purchase, which he is trying to scrap over his allegations the social media platform misled him about its tally of fake accounts.
Billions of dollars are at stake, but so is the future of the platform that Musk has said should allow any legal speech, an absolutist position that has sparked fears the network could be used to incite violence.
The hearing in the eastern state of Delaware is set to include arguments over Twitter's push for a September trial date, which is aimed at limiting the uncertainty plaguing the firm.
"Questions have been raised about Twitter's future, and they don't want this to drag on for very long," said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor.
Musk's legal team has filed papers arguing that date is far too soon for such a complex matter, and instead proposed mid-February.
Twitter lawyers noted the deal is supposed to close toward the end of October, just six months after Musk launched an unsolicited bid that the company's board first resisted but then supported.
The world's richest person has backed away from the deal in recent months as tech stocks have tumbled, and Twitter's value has fallen well below the $54.20 per share he offered.
Rather than Silicon Valley, where Twitter is based, the company has lodged its lawsuit against Musk in Delaware.