Elon Musk gets access to documents from former Twitter executive
Elon Musk's legal team has landed a win in the ongoing tussle with Twitter. The Delaware Court of Chancery has ordered the tech giant to hand over documents from a former executive who Musk claims were a key person in calculating the number of fake accounts on the platform. The fate of Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media company hinges on this.
Why does this story matter?
A simple acquisition that was supposed to take place this April has steamrolled into an all-out war. While Musk has portrayed Twitter's alleged reluctance to furnish more data as a violation of his rights, Twitter has brushed it off as a non-issue and wants to proceed as per the original agreement. This is certainly one of the most high-profile legal cases we have seen.
Musk won access to Kayvon Beykpour's documents
The executive in question is the former head of consumer product Kayvon Beykpour, who was fired in May. He had joined Twitter in 2015 when the tech firm bought his live video app Periscope. His team was responsible for expanding the platform's user base, and it is the company's claim of bots accounting for less than 5% of total active users that Musk disputes.
Where does the legal tussle currently stand?
Musk's attorneys urged Judge Kathaleen McCormick to force Twitter to furnish information from 22 employees, in addition to 41 others agreed upon by both sides. However, McCormick said that Twitter had to "collect, review, and produce documents" from just Beykpour. Now, lawyers of both parties are issuing subpoenas to parties involved in the deal and will head to trial on October 17.
Musk sold Tesla shares to finance Twitter purchase
In a shocking move, Musk recently sold $6.9 billion worth of Tesla shares. Describing the sale, he said, "In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don't come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock." The Tesla top boss has promised to buy back the shares if the Twitter deal fails.
Twitter is in a state of limbo
Twitter is now in a state of crisis as it awaits a new owner. From cost-cutting initiatives to hiring freezes, there are several issues. Employees are now worried about whether the new leadership will prioritize the projects they are working on.
