Tesla CEO Elon Musk is planning to file a counter-lawsuit against social media company Twitter in an attempt to terminate the $44 billion agreement the two parties had where Musk would buy the platform.
A new report from the New York Post, which lists “a source close to the case,” says the purpose of the Musk countersuit is to push a Delaware Court of Chancery judge to grant lawyers for the Tesla CEO to gather information about Twitter’s bot population, which is the main reason Musk would like to pull out of the suit.
Musk argued that Twitter did not truthfully portray the number of spam/scam accounts in a recent 10-K filing and ultimately decided to pull out of the deal.
This caused Twitter to file a lawsuit last Tuesday, stating that Musk has tried to “trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.”
Twitter is attempting to make Musk pay up for the $54.20 per share through their suit. Musk has argued that his termination request should be upheld because Twitter has not been truthful regarding the number of bot accounts on the platform.
Twitter’s suit will have its first hearing on Tuesday, and Kathleen McCormick, who has forced a buyout in a past trial, is expected to hear arguments for a potentially accelerated trial, which Twitter is requesting. Twitter is requesting a four-day trial set for September, while Musk is hoping to remain out of the courtroom until February.
Analysts and legal experts are split, with many suggesting that Musk’s countersuit is needed and reasonable, considering if he didn’t, he would essentially be okay with going to court and fighting under Twitter’s terms. Others believe Twitter’s request for a quick trial is likely to be granted.
Interestingly, Wells Fargo analysts have set their price target for Twitter at Musk’s asking price for Twitter per share, which is $54.20.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder but owns no shares of TWTR.
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