Elon Musk Doesn't Want To Rush, Rejects Twitter Lawsuit Trial To Be Held In September 2022

JAKARTA - Elon Musk filed a motion on Friday, July 15 against Twitter Inc's request to speed up the trial over his plan to end a $44 billion deal to acquire the social media company.

Musk's attorneys, in a letter filed with Delaware Chancery Court, said Twitter's "unjustified request" to expedite the merger case to court within two months should be rejected.

This is the latest step in a major legal row between Twitter and Musk. The San Francisco-based company is trying to resolve months of uncertainty for its business as Musk tries to walk away from the deal by citing Twitter's "spam bot" problems.

Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday, July 12, for violating a deal to buy the social media platform. They also asked a Delaware court to order the world's richest man to complete the merger at an agreed price of $54.20 per share.

Twitter eventually asked for the trial to begin in September as the merger agreement with Musk expires on October 25.

"Twitter's sudden request for warp speed after two months of toe-to-toe and confusion is the latest tactic to cover up the truth about spam accounts long enough to get defendants to close," Musk's attorney said.

Musk's lawyers argue that disputes over fake accounts and spam are fundamental to Twitter's values and are very fact and expert. They said it would take a lot of time for the discovery and asked for a trial date on or after February 13 next year.

The debt financing package put in place by the bank for the Musk acquisition expires in April 2023. That means if the trial starts in February and doesn't finish by April, the deal could collapse.

Twitter declined to comment on Musk's latest motion. Twitter shares were down about 1% in extended trading.