Tesla CEO Elon Musk is planning to file a counter-lawsuit against Twitter in an effort to blow up the $44 billion agreement made to buy the social media giant, according to a new report.
The tech billionaire has 20 days from when Twitter filed its lawsuit to file counterclaims of his own.
Twitter filed suit less than a week ago and is asking the court to force Musk to buy the platform at the agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share. However, Musk says that he is allowed to terminate the deal because Twitter was misleading about the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform.
Sources close to the case told the New York Post that the countersuit is meant to give Musk’s legal team more time to gather information about Twitterbots.
Musk fired back at Twitter’s lawsuit on Friday by submitting a filing with the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Musk’s lawyers accused Twitter of withholding information about fake accounts, creating delays, providing evasive responses and putting up technical obstacles. The filing also disputed Twitter’s request for an expedited trial, claiming that it would take months to get the necessary information from Twitter and to depose numerous witnesses about the fake accounts,
“The core dispute over false and spam accounts is fundamental to Twitter’s value,” Musk’s attorneys wrote, “It is also extremely fact and expert intensive, requiring substantial time for discovery.”
The filing repeated several other accusations Musk has lodged previously, including the claim that Twitter violated the acquisition agreement when it fired two high-level managers without first informing Musk.
The first hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Twitter’s legal team wants a four-day trial starting in September, while Musk is pushing for a later court date.
