Elon Musk intensified his resolve to back out of the Twitter deal by filing a countersuit last Friday over the platform’s spam bot data.
Elon Musk has filed a countersuit against Twitter over his decision to back out of the $44 billion acquisition deal. On Friday, the Tesla CEO confidentially filed a 164-page document with the Chancery Court in the state of Delaware.
According to Musk, the deal to purchase Twitter became null upon the company’s inefficiency in providing vital information on bots and spam accounts.
The Twitter Countersuit from Elon Musk Document May Soon Be Publicly Available
Elon Musk’s countersuit against Twitter was filed hours after Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ordered a five-day trial beginning on October 17. Although the countersuit document was not publicly available as of Saturday, the court may soon release a redacted version to the public.
Twitter is yet to respond to the suit as of press time.
Number of Alleged Spam & Fake Accounts
Since he first announced plans to buy Twitter, Musk has gone back and forth with Twitter over the intricacies of the deal. The Tesla CEO maintains that Twitter misled him regarding the number of fake accounts it had. In addition, Musk also alleged that the social media giant refused to adequately provide his team with data regarding spam accounts. He also stated that this occurred quite a number of times even though his team specifically requested the data. In Musk’s opinion, such misrepresentation by Twitter regarding its bot accounts breached the $44 billion buyout.
Meanwhile, Twitter calls Musk’s bot claims a distraction and a ploy by the billionaire to ease himself out of the deal. Acting on its convictions, the social media company filed a lawsuit against Musk a few days after he first indicated that he was walking away. In Twitter’s opinion, the Tesla CEO has a legal obligation to honor the terms of the original acquisition deal. This also includes buying out the San Francisco, California-headquartered company at $54.20 per share.
When Musk first announced that he was buying Twitter, the company’s shares jumped substantially, but have wallowed ever since. However, on Friday, the same day Musk filed the countersuit, Twitter shares closed at $41.61 – the highest since he abandoned the deal.
Incoming Twitter Shareholder Vote
Last Wednesday, Twitter announced plans to conduct a vote on the merger on September 13. In addition, the social media giant urged shareholders to endorse the acquisition to put more pressure on Musk. A statement in the filing issued by the major microblogging platform regarding the shareholder meeting read:
“We are committed to closing the merger on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk. Your vote at the special meeting is critical to our ability to complete the merger.”
In other news, Musk also faces an impending week-long trial expected to begin on October 24. A shareholder filed with the court for a ruling that Musk’s record $56 billion pay package from Tesla is unjust enrichment and corporate waste.
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