{"id":1557984,"date":"2022-07-17T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T10:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1557984"},"modified":"2022-07-17T06:04:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T10:04:54","slug":"elon-musk-fires-back-at-twitters-warp-speed-trial-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-fires-back-at-twitters-warp-speed-trial-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk Fires Back at Twitter\u2019s &#8220;Warp Speed&#8221; Trial Request"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Felon-musk-fires-back-at-twitters-warp-speed-trial-request%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1557984&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Billionaire tech mogul <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-elon-musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> has fired back at Twitter\u2019s request for an expedited trial in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-lawsuit\">lawsuit<\/a> that seeks to force the Tesla CEO to follow through with his bid to buy the social media giant for $44 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s legal team alleged in a July 15 filing (<a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/22088175\/musk-initial-response-to-twitter-complaint.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) in a Delaware court that Twitter was engaged in an \u201cunjustifiable request to rush\u201d the trial. A ruling that\u2019s unfavorable to Musk could legally require him to execute on his pledge to buy Twitter for\u00a0$54.20 per share, or around 36 percent above current market value.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwitter\u2019s sudden request for warp speed after two months of foot-dragging and obfuscation is its latest tactic to shroud the truth about spam accounts long enough to railroad Defendants into closing,\u201d Musk\u2019s lawyers wrote in the filing, opposing Twitter\u2019s motion for an expedited four-day trial in September.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers representing Musk said that the question of bots or automated accounts on Twitter are \u201cfundamental\u201d to the case and that more time is needed for discovery.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s defense rests on the premise that the number of automated accounts, or bots, on Twitter is far greater than the 5 percent that the company has disclosed, representing a \u201cmaterial adverse effect\u201d that justifies his backing out of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>While Musk\u2019s team wants the trial postponed to February at the earliest, Twitter\u2019s request for a speedier trial is based on the fact that the buyout agreement Musk signed with the company\u2019s board expires on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n<p>But Musk\u2019s lawyers rejected this reasoning, arguing in their filing that Twitter\u2019s bid for \u201cextreme expedition rests on the false premise\u201d that the termination date is Oct. 24 \u201cglossing over that this date is automatically stayed if either party files litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By filing its complaint, Twitter \u201chas rendered its supposed need for a September trial moot,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about Musk\u2019s filing, a Twitter spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the company has no comment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4602070\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI6E113-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4602070\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI6E113-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Elon Musk\u2019s Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. (Dado Ruvic\/Illustration\/File Photo\/Reuters)<\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Public Spectacle to Put Twitter In Play\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Twitter\u2019s lawsuit against Musk, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/twitter-sues-elon-musk_4593975.html\">filed on July 12<\/a> in Delaware\u2019s Court of Chancery, seeks to compel him to follow through with the deal.<\/p>\n<p>In its 62-page complaint (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/22084456-final-verified-complaint\">pdf<\/a>), Twitter alleges that Musk\u2019s actions have hurt its business and stock price.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that he\u2014unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law\u2014is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away,\u201d Twitter said in the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince signing the merger agreement, Musk has repeatedly disparaged Twitter and the deal, creating business risk for Twitter and downward pressure on its share price,\u201d Twitter added.<\/p>\n<p>Musk initially agreed to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, which is around 36 percent above the current market price of $37.74 per share at the close of regular trading on July 15.<\/p>\n<p>The Tesla CEO has since moved to scuttle the deal, making a formal filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (<a href=\"https:\/\/d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net\/CIK-0001418091\/26b24ef2-929f-496f-852c-645969e8269d.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) that claims there are too many bots and automated accounts on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter fired back, saying it would try to enforce the deal and hit Musk with a\u00a0lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,\u201d\u00a0Bret Taylor, chairman of Twitter, said in a July 8\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/btaylor\/status\/1545526087089696768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter lawyers have said they need just four days to convince the court to rule against Musk.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit will get its first day before a judge within days, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-hearing\">hearing<\/a> already scheduled at the Delaware Court of Chancery, which has a long history of rulings in high-profile corporate litigation cases.<\/p>\n<p>District Judge Kathaleen McCormick, the chancellor of Delaware\u2019s Court of Chancery, has set a 90-minute hearing on July 19 in Wilmington.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Chuckmate\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Twitter\u2019s lawsuit against Musk drew a defiant reaction from the Tesla chief.<\/p>\n<p>In a late-night Twitter post on July 10, Musk shared a meme featuring images of himself laughing, along with captions that marked several key developments in his buyout bid saga, including controversy over the number of bots on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>The Tesla CEO has repeatedly challenged Twitter\u2019s claim that bots make up less than 5 percent of the total accounts on the platform.<\/p>\n<p>His legal team said in a July 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Twitter has failed to give him sufficient access to its data to carry out his own analysis, while arguing that the company misrepresented its monetizable daily active user counts and so broke the terms of their agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Musk also posted a meme featuring action star Chuck Norris,\u00a0sitting behind a chess board, smiling even though his opponent has a crushing advantage in the number of chess pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s single-word caption \u201cChuckmate\u201d is a play on the word \u201ccheckmate,\u201d a winning move in chess, suggesting Musk thinks he\u2019ll emerge victorious, even if the odds may be stacked against him.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter, in its lawsuit, has argued that Musk has been well aware of the platform\u2019s issue with bots.<\/p>\n<p>The company also accused him of breaching the terms of their merger agreement that requires him not to disparage Twitter, pointing to some of Musk\u2019s tweets that are critical of the company\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s filing addressed this issue, accusing Twitter of having the \u201csense of humor of a bot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwitter claims that Musk is damaging the company with tweets like a Chuck Norris meme and a poop emoji,\u201d the filing states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwitter ignores that Musk is its second-largest shareholder with a far greater economic stake than the entire Twitter board,\u201d Musk\u2019s lawyers said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tom-ozimek\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tom-Ozimek.jpg\" alt=\"Tom Ozimek\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education. The best writing advice he&#8217;s ever heard is from Roy Peter Clark: &#8216;Hit your target&#8217; and &#8216;leave the best for last.&#8217;\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has fired back at Twitter\u2019s request for an expedited trial in a lawsuit that seeks to force the Tesla CEO to follow through with his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1557984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1557984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1557984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1557984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1557984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1557984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1557984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}