As the trial between Elon Musk and Twitter, scheduled for October 17, fast approaches, the two sides continue to clash through interposed proceedings. The challenge for the social network: to force the billionaire to acquire the company at the price promised when it was announced ($44 billion).
The Tesla boss is looking for his part to derail this takeover bid that he no longer wants. Officially, Elon Musk claims that the social network actually has too many fake accounts, which calls into question the announced percentage of 5% of bots on the platform. In late August, revelations from a whistleblower also seemed to lend credence to the billionaire’s claims. However, the valuation of the company (and therefore the redemption value) depends on the number of accounts actually active during the period. Therefore, the proportion of false accounts is a key element.
But Twitter is not going to let it go. The group, which has lost feathers on the stock market since the beginning of the matter, assures that this question of false accounts is just a pretext. As evidence, an SMS from Elon Musk used by the social network’s lawyers during a hearing in Delaware on Tuesday supposed to rule on a possible postponement of the October trial.
For Twitter, this SMS is proof that the Tesla boss was more concerned about the dark clouds over the global economy and protecting his own financial interests than the bot issue. However, in this thorny case, Musk cannot back down without paying significant compensation, unless he shows that he did not have all the information to clearly judge the value of the company. In this case, it is the issue of bots that could justify this refusal.
If justice considers that the argument does not hold, Elon Musk must then pay compensation for the breakdown of the negotiations, provided for in the acquisition contract, of one billion dollars to Twitter. But the social network could also get additional damage.
Source: BFM TV
