Elon Musk on Monday mocked Twitter Inc’s threat to sue him following his move to abandon the $44 billion takeover deal, tweeting the social media firm would need to disclose more information on bots and spam accounts.
The series of tweets on Monday was Tesla Inc chief’s first public response since he made public his intention to ditch the offer on Friday because Twitter had breached multiple provisions of the merger agreement, Reuters reported.
To force Elon Musk to complete the $44 billion acquisition of the social media company, Twitter has hired US law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz to sue the world’s richest man.
Tesla CEO Musk terminated his deal on Friday, saying Twitter had failed to provide information about fake accounts on the platform, after which Twitter’s chairman, Bret Taylor, vowed a legal fight.
Now, Twitter is planning to file a lawsuit against Musk, early this week in Delaware, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The possible unraveling of the deal is just the latest twist in a saga between the world’s richest man and one of the most influential social media platforms. Much of the drama has played out on Twitter, with Musk – who has more than 95 million followers – lamenting that the company was failing to live up to its potential as a platform for free speech.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was one of the legal advisers for Musk’s plan to take Tesla private in 2018. Musk tweeted that there was “funding secured” for a $72 billion deal to take Tesla private but did not move ahead with an offer, an ANI report said.
The contract calls for Musk to pay Twitter a $1 billion break-up fee if he cannot complete the deal for reasons such as the acquisition financing falling through or regulators blocking the deal. The fee would not be applicable, however, if Musk terminates the deal on his own.