In a bold move that could backfire, Musk calls for the past Twitter chief to reveal documents.
Key details
Elon Musk and his legal team have subpoenaed Twitter’s founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, to get him to release documents that provide accurate information on bots and spam accounts on the social-media platform.
The reason Musk attempted to abandon the $44 billion Twitter purchase in the first place was due to not being given accurate info on the fake accounts used on the platform.
Why it’s important
Musk claimed Twitter has not been upfront about the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform. As a result, Musk abandoned the $44 billion purchase of the social-media company. Twitter has since sued to force the deal to go through, and a trial date has been set for October. This news could make the deal move forward.
Musk believes if he is given the accurate information he will be able to prove his point and back out of the deal unscathed. Recently a judge ruled that Twitter had to provide Musk the files, but the company was spared from producing documents for most of the employees Musk says are key witnesses on the bots issue.
Backing up a bit
In April, Elon Musk announced that he held a 9.2% stake in Twitter, which made him the social-media company’s largest shareholder. Twitter’s stock price soared 25 percent after the announcement.
Later that month, the billionaire entrepreneur offered to buy all of Twitter at $54.20 per share—equaling about $44 billion. He said he originally invested in the platform because he believes it is failing in its potential to be the leading platform for free speech around the globe. In fact, he asked his 2 million followers if Twitter adhered to principles of free speech, and 70 percent said “no.”
Last month, Musk decided to back out of the deal, claiming there were too many fake accounts on the platform. Twitter has since sued Musk in Delaware Court of Chancery to complete the deal and requested the trial to take place in September. Musk, on the other hand, wanted to delay the trial until February 2023, stating that a case of this size takes time to prepare. Twitter was granted its wish of an expedited trial, with Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the presiding judge, setting a five-day trial for October.
Musk then countersued Twitter, stating his reason for the termination was due to Twitter not being upfront about the number of fake accounts on the platform.
The trial is set for October, unless it can be settled before that date approaches.
