Tesla CEO Elon Musk who on Tuesday has decided to proceed with his initial US$44 billion offer to purchase social media giant Twitter said he’s yet to reach an agreement with the company which is expected to end the legal tussle between both parties.
In the latest report, Musk proposed he would abide by his April agreement to purchase the company for US$54.20 per share if Twitter dropped its litigation against him.
The social media’s legal team and Musk’s lawyers updated the judge on Tuesday with their attempts to try to overcome mutual distrust and find a process for closing the deal.
“Keep an eye on the docket,” said one source.
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Musk is scheduled to be deposed on Thursday in Austin, Texas.
“That’s the pressure point,” said a second source.
The world’s richest man successfully canceled a deposition in late September citing concerns about a Twitter attorney’s possible exposure to someone who later tested positive for COVID-19, according to a court filing that was later made public on Wednesday.
Shares of Twitter were down 2.5% at $50.72 in early trading. The stock hit its highest level on Tuesday since Musk and Twitter agreed in April that he would buy the company for $54.20 per share.
The initial reason why Musk said he was walking out of the deal was due to trust issues with Twitter when he alleged back in July that he was misled about the number of fake accounts and spam bots on the platform compared to actual real users.
Twitter on its own end suffered a blowback when a whistleblower Pieter Zatko made some security allegations against the company back in August about the company’s practices.
Twitter then uncovered an anonymous May 6 email sent to Spiro from “a former Exec at Twitter leading teams directly involving Trust & Safety/Content Moderation.”
The sender offered to communicate “via alternate means.”
It’s worth noting that Zatko was the former head of Twitter security until he got fired in January. He swore under oath that he did not communicate with Musk or Musk’s legal representative at Quinn Emanuel.
The judge, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, said in a Monday ruling it is “at least plausible” Zatko sent the anonymous email.
She then ordered Spiro to file by 4:30 pm ET a statement with the court explaining his actions regarding the May 6 email.
