Twitter and Elon Musk to Face Off in October as It Tries to Force Tycoon to Complete $44 Billion Acquisition Deal | Science and tech news

Elon Musk’s bid to postpone Twitter’s lawsuit against him until 2023 has been rejected by a US judge who granted the social media giant an accelerated trial.

The world’s richest man said he withdrew this month from a deal to buy the tech company for $44 billion (£36.6 billion), and the company is suing him for trying to force him to fulfill his earlier promise in April. to come to acquire it .

A judge in Delaware has now set a trial for October, citing the “cloud of uncertainty” over the social platform.

Twitter pushed for the lawsuit to be heard in September, saying the pending lawsuit was hurting its business.

But Musk’s team had tried to postpone it until early next year due to the complexity of the case.

Chancellor Kathaleen St Jude McCormick, the chief judge of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, said: “Delay threatens irreparable harm. The longer the delay, the greater the risk.”

The Tesla and SpaceX boss had pledged to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter, but told the company in July that he wanted to pull out of the deal.

“It’s an attempt at sabotage. He’s doing his best to shut down Twitter,” said William Savitt, a lawyer for the social media company.

The tycoon claims that the company has not given him enough information about the number of fake – spambot – Twitter accounts.

And he says it violated its obligations by firing top executives and firing a significant number of employees.

Musk’s team expects more information about the bot numbers to come out in the court’s discovery process, when both sides must hand over evidence.

Musk tries to squeeze out of the deal

Twitter states that Musk is trying to pull out because he agreed to pay 38% above Twitter’s share price just before the stock market fell.

And shares of electric car maker Tesla, where most of his personal wealth is, lost more than $100 billion in value.

“He’s counting on getting out of the deal he signed,” Savitt said.

But Musk’s attorney Andrew Rossman claims it’s “ridiculous” to suggest the Tesla CEO is trying to damage Twitter.

He said the businessman “has no interest in harming the company”.