News

Elon Musk’s Twitter trial delay request denied, but addition of whistleblower complaint gets approval

Credit: Commons Wikimedia

Published

3 years ago

September 7, 2022

Simon Alvarez

Elon Musk’s request to delay his trial against Twitter has been denied by a Delaware court. However, Musk’s request to include the claims put forth by whistleblower and former Twitter security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko in his countersuit against the social media company has also been approved.

The ruling was outlined by Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick in a letter. With this in mind, Elon Musk has gained a small win and a loss in his initial session with Twitter in court. Musk’s legal team had requested to push the trial back to mid-November, but with the rejection of the request, the trial is still expected to begin on October 17, 2022.

“Defendants’ motion to extend the case schedule is denied… In arguing that trial should be delayed by at least four weeks, Defendants contend that no external deadline creates any urgency. They observe that the merger agreement’s “termination date of October 24, 2022is automatically stayed if litigation is commenced, and debt financing has an outside date of April 25, 2023.”

“They adduce, therefore, that ‘any prejudice to Twitter can be easily mitigated by . . . continu[ing] the trial date.’ But the opposite is true. I previously rejected Defendants’ arguments in response to Twitter’s motion to expedite, making clear that the longer the delay until trial, the greater the risk of irreparable harm to Twitter. Indeed,Twitter has represented that the anticipated risk of harm has materialized over the course of this litigation.

“Twitter ‘has suffered increased employee attrition,’ which ‘undermin[es]the company’s ability to pursue its operations goals. The company has been forced for months to manage under the constrains of a repudiated merger agreement, including Defendants’ continued refusal to provide any consents for matters under the operating covenants. ‘I am convinced that even four weeks’ delay would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify,” McCormick wrote.

Motion to delay Twitter trial is denied 👇🏻$TWTR $TSLA pic.twitter.com/dkHcT0Mams— David Tayar (@davidtayar5) September 7, 2022

But while Musk’s efforts to delay the trial were unsuccessful, the Tesla CEO’s efforts to augment his countersuit with former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko’s whistleblower complaint were successful. Zatko had accused Twitter of fraud while also noting that the social media company did not really care to find out how many of its users were spam or fake accounts. Twitter, for its part, has been dismissive of Zatko’s whistleblower complaints.

Twitter lawyers, during their session in a Delaware Chancery court on Tuesday, claimed that Zatko’s accusations do not meet the legal standard to nullify its merger contract with Musk even if they were true. Twitter’s legal team also noted that while Zatko did raise security concerns during his tenure with the company, Twitter investigated the issues internally and found that the security chief’s concerns were “without merit.”

McCormick, however, does not seem to agree with Twitter’s legal team on the issue.

“Defendant’s motion to amend is granted… The newly published Whistleblower Complaint would be grounds in most instances to permit an amendment under the low bar of Rule 15(a). Twitter argues that the amendment would be futile, but their arguments falter against the exceedingly movant-friendly standard of Rule 15(a). I am reticent to say more concerning the merits of the counterclaims at this posture before they have been fully litigated. The world will have to wait for the post-trial decision.

“Twitter also argues that the amendment would be prejudicial to the extent it would expand discovery and extend the case schedule, and Twitter’s arguments to this effect are far more forceful than Twitter’s futility arguments. But that prejudice can be mitigated by cabining additional discovery to the new allegations and maintaining the existing case schedule. So that is what I will do,” McCormick wrote.

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick’s letter can be viewed below.

Letter Decision Resolving Defendants' Motion for Leave to Amend and Extend Case Schedule (003) by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s European launch frustrations revealed by Elon Musk

Tesla plans to launch Full Self-Driving in Europe later this year, but regulatory bodies are proving to make it a bigger challenge than it needs to be.

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla Europe and Middle East | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to launch in Europe in the future, but the region’s governing bodies are not giving the suite any chance to move forward, according to CEO Elon Musk, who blames the regulatory processes for robbing citizens of a safer mode of travel.

The automaker revealed late last year that it planned to bring Full Self-Driving to Europe sometime in 2025. However, Musk said that the launch of the suite is being continuously prolonged by both individual and European Union officials, dragging their feet with approvals.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk said the company is still dealing with and waiting for approvals from both the Dutch government and the EU’s governing officials, giving an indication that some progress has been made, but ultimately, there are still some bodies that are taking their time:

Waiting for Dutch authorities and then the EU to approve.

Very frustrating and hurts the safety of people in Europe, as driving with advanced Autopilot on results in four times fewer injuries!

Please ask your governing authorities to accelerate making Tesla safer in Europe. https://t.co/QIYCXhhaQp

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025

He continued by stating that the delays are “very frustrating” and they “hurt the safety of people in Europe” because of Autopilot’s statistical prowess, which shows it is much safer than human drivers.

Tesla is readying for the launch of a completely driverless Robotaxi platform in the U.S., which is set to occur in the coming days. While the initial rollout of the platform will be reserved for a select few, public rides are slated for June 22, meaning anyone will be able to come to Austin and hail a Tesla Robotaxi through the company’s smartphone app.

The first Robotaxi without a driver was spotted in Austin yesterday and shared on X:

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

Musk dropped several hints that the Robotaxi launch, which has been rumored for June 12, is imminent. For now, the operation will take place in Austin and will eventually expand, likely to California next, as noted in past reports. The City’s official website confirmed that Tesla gained a license as an Autonomous Vehicle operator in the City of Austin earlier this week.

Tesla applied for a similar license in California earlier this year.

Energy

Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone

The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments.

Published

7 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla Megapack/X

The Tesla Lathrop Megafactory recently achieved a new milestone. As per the official Tesla Megapack account on X, the Lathrop Megafactory has produced its 15,000th Megapack 2 XL battery.

15,000 Megapack Batteries

Tesla celebrated the milestone with a photo of the Lathrop Megafactory team posing with a freshly produced Megapack battery. To commemorate the event, the team held balloons that spelled out “15,000” as they posed for the photo.

The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments. Designed for grid-scale applications, each Megapack offers 3.9 MWh of energy and 1.9 MW of power. The battery is extremely scalable, making it perfect for massive energy storage projects.

https://twitter.com/Tesla_Megapack/status/1932578971700638203

More Megafactories

The Lathrop Megafactory is Tesla’s first dedicated facility for its flagship battery storage system. It currently stands as the largest utility-scale battery factory in North America. The facility is capable of producing 10,000 Megapack batteries every year, equal to 40 GWh of clean energy storage.

Thanks to the success of the Megapack, Tesla has expanded its energy business by building and launching the Shanghai Megafactory, which is also expected to produce 40 GWh of energy storage per year. The ramp of the Shanghai Megafactory is quite impressive, with Tesla noting in its Q1 2025 Update Letter that the Shanghai Megafactory managed to produce over 100 Megapack batteries in the first quarter alone.

Tesla Energy’s Potential

During the first quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk stated that the Megapack is extremely valuable to the energy industry.

“The Megapack enables utility companies to output far more total energy than would otherwise be the case… This is a massive unlock on total energy output of any given grid over the course of a year. And utility companies are beginning to realize this and are buying in our Megapacks at scale,” Musk said.

News

Tesla launches “TeslaVision” video contest to celebrate Model Y deliveries

The program marks a revival of Tesla’s popular Project Loveday initiative back in 2017.

Published

9 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla has announced the TeslaVision Contest, a global video showcase inviting fans and owners to highlight the impact of the company’s vehicles on people.

The program marks a revival of its Project Loveday initiative in 2017, which was extremely well-received by the electric vehicle community.

A Contest to Celebrate the New Model Y

As per the TeslaVision contest’s official website, the program is being rolled out to commemorate the launch and deliveries of the new Model Y across all continents. Thus, the contest could be seen as a global celebration and showcase of owners and fans who made Tesla the household brand that it has become today.

Participants are tasked with creating a 90-second or shorter video demonstrating how Tesla vehicles provide “more freedom, more safety, more fun, more convenience.” Submissions must be uploaded to YouTube and shared on X and Instagram with the tag @Tesla and the phrase “TeslaVision contest.”

Videos must align with Tesla’s mission to accelerate sustainable energy, be suitable for all ages, and avoid references to non-Tesla brands. English text or voice-overs are required, and entrants must relinquish rights to their content for Tesla’s commercial use.

https://twitter.com/Tesla/status/1932559030892802153

A Big Prize Awaits

When Tesla launched Project Loveday in 2017, the company noted that the contest’s winner would receive an all-expenses paid invitation to an upcoming Tesla product launch. For TeslaVision, the grand prize is a lot more tangible, with the winner receiving a new Model Y AWD. They will also get an all-expenses-paid trip to Gigafactory Texas. Second and third-place winners will also receive a Giga Texas tour.

Finalists will be selected based on creativity, originality, relevance to the prompt, and entertainment value. Tesla will shortlist 100 videos, with the top 10 subject to public voting to influence the final judging. The contest is open to legal residents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, aged 18 or older, with a valid driver’s license and Tesla account. No purchase is necessary, though entries are limited to just one per person.