What happens now that Twitter v Elon Musk trial has been delayed?
The legal fight between Twitter and Elon Musk over his failure to complete his agreed purchase of the company has been postponed after a judge granted the Tesla chief executive’s request for a delay.
The social media platform and Musk, who this week U-turned on his decision to walk away from the deal, have until 28 October to close a transaction or else the case will be back on in Delaware in November.
Here we shed some light on how the dispute got to this point and what could happen next.
A quick recap for those who have not been following this twisty saga closely: Musk signed a formal agreement to buy Twitter for $44bn (£39bn) in April. In July, he announced he was terminating the agreement and walking away. Twitter responded by lodging a lawsuit in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, demanding that the world’s richest man close the deal under the terms agreed.
Musk countersued, accusing Twitter of running a “scheme” to mislead investors over the number of vexatious spam accounts on its platform. The trial to adjudicate on all of this had been due to take place on 17 October.
On Monday, Musk said he would like to buy Twitter for the previously agreed $54.20 a share after all, perhaps mindful of widespread legal opinion that he would not win the trial.
However, talks since then to close the deal have foundered, reflecting how much bad blood there is between both sides. On Thursday, Musk asked the presiding judge, Kathaleen McCormick to pause the litigation while he gets funding to close the deal. Judge McCormick has granted his wish.
Musk’s representatives argued in a filing on Thursday that Twitter would not “take yes for an answer” and would not agree to put the trial on hold. His lawyers said progress was under way
Read more on theguardian.com
