Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Elon Musk's friends say Twitter targeting them in 'giant harassing fishing expedition'

Elon Musk's friends say Twitter targeting them in 'giant harassing fishing expedition'

The social media company suspects "that behind the scenes" Elon Musk has "been conspiring to blow the whole thing up," according to one expert's analysis.

Twitter is sending dozens of subpoenas to Elon Musk's associates and financial partners as part of its lawsuit against the billionaire for backing out of his deal to acquire the company.

A US judge has granted Twitter a fast-track five-day trial set to start on 17 October after the billionaire said he was rescinding his $44bn (£36.6bn) bid for the social media company on 8 July.

Twitter was pushing for the court case to be heard in September because it said the ongoing dispute was hurting its business.

Its shares were trading as low as $32.65 on 11 July, well below the $54.20 that Mr Musk had offered to pay for the company back in April.

Chancellor Kathaleen St Jude McCormick, the head judge of Delaware's Court of Chancery, said: "Delay threatens irreparable harm. The longer the delay, the greater the risk."

Mr Musk's team had sought to put off the trial until early next year because of how complex the case is.

His representatives accused Twitter of being in breach of the terms of the acquisition agreement, in particular that they failed to allow him to "make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts".

Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir Technologies, tweeted that he was among those who had received a subpoena, and described the requests as a "giant harassing fishing expedition".


"It's attempted sabotage"


Court filings reveal that the social media company has sent subpoenas to global banks and others involved in the financing of the deal.

Twitters suspects "that behind the scenes he's been conspiring to blow the whole thing up", Professor Minor Myers, at UConn School of Law, told Reuters.

"It's attempted sabotage. He's doing his best to run Twitter down," said William Savitt, a lawyer for the social media company.

The tycoon claims the firm failed to provide him with enough information concerning the number of fake - spam bot - Twitter accounts.

And he says it breached its obligations by sacking top managers and laying off a significant number of workers.

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


'Musk trying to wriggle out of deal'


Twitter argues Musk is trying to back out because he agreed to pay 38% above Twitter's stock price just before the stock market fell.

And shares of electric carmaker Tesla, where most of his personal wealth is, lost more than $100bn of their value.

"He's banking on wriggling out of the deal he signed," Mr Savitt said.

But Musk's lawyer Andrew Rossman claims it is "preposterous" to suggest the Tesla chief executive is attempting to damage Twitter.

He said the businessman "has no interest in damaging the company".

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
JD Vance Warns Europe Faces “Civilizational Suicide” Over Open Borders and Speech Limits
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
×