Elon Musk subpoenas Jack Dorsey ahead of trial against Twitter
The Elon Musk-Twitter legal battle is heating up as the Tesla CEO subpoenas his friend and former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey. He has also called for the dismissal of a shareholder suit against him for canceling the $44 billion deal to buy the microblogging platform. Twitter has claimed that Musk's decision to back out of the deal has caused the company financial losses.
Why does this story matter?
Musk's decision to subpoena Dorsey comes as a surprise. Considering the relationship between the two, what is it that Musk's team aims to gather from Dorsey that they couldn't get without legal obligation? It is hard to believe that he has any insider information considering that he had stepped down as Twitter CEO in November. Well, maybe, Musk's team knows something we don't.
Twitter has also summoned people connected to Musk
Musk's decision to summon Dorsey came after Twitter themselves subpoenaed a slew of tech investors and entrepreneurs connected to the SpaceX CEO. This list includes famous venture capitalists such as Marc Andreessen and David Sacks. Both parties will have a chance to examine the witnesses they have summoned when the trial begins on October 17 in Delaware.
What does Musk's team want from Dorsey?
Dorsey has been an early endorser of Musk's decision to buy Twitter. The subpoena lists what Musk's team is looking for from the former CEO. This includes documents and communications regarding the merger, the impact or effect of fake/spam accounts, the usage of mDAU (monetizable daily active users) as a key metric, and processes that the company uses to detect fake/spam accounts, among others.
Twitter believes that Musk has buyer's remorse
The Musk-Twitter saga took a turn for the worst when the billionaire backed out of the deal to acquire the company citing "false and misleading representations" about the number of fake accounts on the social media site. Twitter then sued Musk to complete the $44 billion acquisition. The company has repeatedly said that his argument is weak and is nothing but buyer's remorse.
Judge recently allowed Musk access to documents from Twitter executive
The Musk-Twitter legal battle had started off on a losing note for the billionaire, as his request to delay the trial was dismissed by Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the head judge of the Delaware Court of Chancery. Last week, he scored an unexpected victory when the judge allowed him access to documents from Twitter's former head of consumer product, Kayvon Beykpour.
