Tesla’s Elon Musk Countersues Twitter Over $44 Billion Deal

Just before heading into the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk quietly filed a countersuit against Twitter. For those unaware, Twitter is taking Musk to court after the CEO announced he’s backing out of the previously agreed-upon deal to buy the social media company for $44 billion.

Reuters points out that Musk filed the suit confidentially, though it received details about the situation anyhow. There is a 164-page document related to the lawsuit, but it wasn’t made available to the public. However, it’s likely that a redacted version will be made available soon.

At any rate, Twitter sued Musk, who hoped to push the case back until sometime next year and potentially draw it out. Twitter pushed to move quickly with the proceedings, and limit the trial to a matter of days.

The judge didn’t side with either plan, though the decision strongly favored Twitter. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled for a five-day trial beginning on October 17, 2022.

The same day Musk filed the countersuit against Twitter, another company shareholder sued Musk for manipulating the stock. The shareholder, Luigi Crispo, owns some 5,550 Twitter shares and believes the Tesla CEO has a fiduciary duty to Twitter stockholders. Musk bought a large stake in Twitter, didn’t disclose it in due time, and then announced the deal only to insult Twitter and back out of the deal. Needless to say, Musk’s antics took Twitter’s stock through the wringer while also doing damage to Tesla’s value.

After the judge set the trial for October 17 and noted the goal to move quickly to limit further damage to Twitter, Musk sued. Reportedly, the two sides weren’t in agreement about limits related to time for discovery. Musk wants his team of lawyers to have ample time to get to the bottom of the alleged bot and fake account situation.

The Tesla CEO has said Twitter is purposely taking its time and not providing him with the information he’s requested. Twitter, on the other hand, says Musk is simply requesting huge amounts of data as part of a distraction to the real matter. The judge made it clear that the decision to begin the trial on October 17 doesn’t resolve any disagreements related to discovery and data.