Elon Musk is opposing Twitter’s request for a fast-track trial over its plan to end its $44 billion deal for the social networking company. Shares of Twitter fell about 1% in extended trading. In a filing Friday, Musk’s lawyers said Twitter’s “unreasonable request” to speed up the merger trial by two months should be denied. The filing was made in the Delaware District Court. ELON MUSK TWITTER SAGA: WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEK AND WHAT’S AHEAD? Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday for breaching an agreement to buy the company, asking a Delaware court to order the merger to be completed at the agreed price of $54.20 per share. The billionaire said he believes at least 20% of Twitter users may be spam, fake accounts (Getty images | istock) The company requested that the test begin in September because the merger agreement with Musk expires on October 25. “Twitter’s sudden request for warp speed after two months of drifting and obfuscating is its latest tactic to obfuscate the truth about the spam accounts long enough for the defendants to be shut down,” Musk’s filing said. ELON MUSK TWITTER DEAL SUCCEEDED WITH MORE SECOND CHECK On July 8, Musk’s lawyers said he would drop out of the deal, arguing that Twitter is “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the deal and “appears to have made false and misleading statements” when it accepted Musk’s April 25 buyout offer. In this photo image, a Twitter logo appears on a smartphone screen. (Photo by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images) The notice came as Musk and his legal team disputed Twitter’s internal estimates that spam and fake accounts make up less than 5% of its users. Musk’s lawyers say the dispute is fundamental to Twitter’s value and is highly factual and expert and will take significant time for discovery. ELON MUSK TWITTER SAGA LIKELY TO CONTINUE: ‘NO PRECEDENT’ FOR THIS, EXPERT SAYS They are asking for a trial date on or after February 13 next year. Elon Musk’s Twitter account is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of the home page of the Twitter website. (Chesnot/Getty Images/Getty Images) However, if a test is pushed back too far, there are concerns the deal could collapse as the debt financing package pledged by the banks for the takeover expires in April 2023. Ticker Security Last Change %TWTR TWITTER INC. 37.45 +1.19 +3.27%TSLA TESLA INC. 720.20 +5.26 +0.74% Twitter declined to comment on Musk’s latest move. Reuters contributed to this report.
