Elon Musk opposes Twitter’s bid to speed up trial over US$44 billion deal

Musk’s lawyers said the social media firm’s ‘unjustifiable request’ to rush the merger case to trial in two months should be rejected

Twitter and Musk are locked in a legal tussle after the billionaire tried to walk away from the deal for what he says is the platform’s ‘spam bot’ problem

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Elon Musk (centre) leaves a courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 12. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Published: 9:45am, 16 Jul 2022

Elon Musk filed a motion on Friday opposing Twitter Inc’s request to fast track a trial over his plan to terminate his US$44 billion deal for the social media firm.

Musk’s lawyers, in papers filed with the Delaware Chancery Court, said Twitter’s “unjustifiable request” to rush the merger case to trial in two months should be rejected.

It is the latest move in what promises to be a major legal showdown between Twitter and Musk. The San Francisco-based company is seeking to resolve months of uncertainty for its business as Musk tries to walk away from the deal for what he says is Twitter’s “spam bot” problem.

Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday for violating the deal to buy the social media platform, asking a Delaware court to order the world’s richest person to complete the merger at the agreed price of US$54.20 per share.

The company requested the trial begin in September because the merger agreement with Musk terminates on October 25.