Elon Musk To Countersue Twitter To Blow Up Deal

According to a Monday report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk plans to file a countersuit against Twitter to get rid of the $44 billion deal to buy the social media giant.

According to sources close to the case, the countersuit was meant to force a Delaware Court of Chancery judge into giving Musk’s legal team more opportunity to collect information about bots on Twitter. This is the main reason Musk reneged on the deal.

Twitter sued Musk last Tuesday to stop him from completing his $44 billion acquisition of the social media giant. He was accused of “outlandish and bad faith” actions that caused irreparable damage to the company and “wreaked havoc on its stock price.”

Musk promised in April that he would pay $54.20 per share for Twitter. Twitter accepted those terms after it reversed its opposition to the deal. The two sides are preparing for a legal battle since Musk announced a week ago that the billionaire would not be buying the company.

Musk’s lawyers filed a complaint with the Delaware Court of Chancery Friday alleging that Twitter withheld information about fake accounts, created delays, provided evasive answers, and put up technical obstacles. Also, the filing disputed Twitter’s request to have an expedited trial. It claimed that it would take months for Twitter to provide information and that many witnesses will need to be deposed on the subject.

Musk made several other allegations in the filing, including that Twitter violated the acquisition contract when it fired two high-ranking managers without first informing Musk.

Musk has 20 days to file his counterclaims from the date that Twitter sued him. The first hearing is set for Tuesday. Twitter’s legal team is requesting a four-day trial that begins in September. Musk, however, wants to start the process later.

Kathaleen McCormick, Delaware Court of Chancery chancellor, is expected to consider Twitter’s request for an expedited case. McCormick will also hear Musk’s countersuit if his legal team files one.