Tesla boss Elon Musk has filed a motion to block Twitter’s request to expedite a lawsuit over its plan to end a $44 billion takeover deal with the social media giant.
His attorneys filed documents with the Delaware Chancery court, arguing that Twitter’s request to rush the merger case to trial in two months was “unjustifiable” and asked that it be dismissed.
“Twitter’s sudden warp-speed request after two months of stomping and obfuscation is its latest tactic to cover up the truth about spam accounts long enough for railroad defendants to shut down,” its officials said. lawyers in a court case.
The San Francisco-based social media company had asked the court to expedite proceedings due to uncertainty surrounding its business amid the recent economic downturn. Mr Musk wants out of the billion dollar deal after he alleged Twitter had a ‘spam bot’ problem.
Twitter sued the world’s richest person on Tuesday for breaching the deal, asking the court to order Mr. Musk to complete the merger at the agreed price of $54.20 per share.
In the legal complaint filed by Twitter, the company ripped into Mr. Musk, writing that the billionaire “apparently believes that he – unlike any other party subject to Delaware contract law – is free to change his mind, destroy company, disrupt its operations, destroy shareholder value and walk away.
The company has requested that the lawsuit begin in mid-September to protect Twitter and its shareholders “from lingering market risk and operational damages resulting from Musk’s attempt to squeeze out of a tight merger deal.” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The merger deal with Mr Musk ends on October 25.
Lawyers for Mr Musk have requested a trial date on or after February 13 next year, accusing the company of withholding information about fake accounts and spam which the Tesla chief says is fundamental for the value of Twitter.
Lawyers argued that it would take months to obtain information and file numerous witnesses about fake accounts.
The filing repeated several other accusations made earlier against the company, including the claim that Twitter violated the acquisition agreement by firing two high-level executives without first telling Mr. Musk.
According to reports, if the trial begins in February and does not end in April, the deal will fall through given that the debt financing committed by the banks for the acquisition of Mr Musk expires in April 2023.
Since the deal to acquire Mr Musk took shape, Twitter shares have fallen more than a third from its proposed purchase price.