With reference to insufficient data on fake accounts, Elon Musk bursts the takeover deal with Twitter. But he won't get out of the agreement that easily. Twitter insists on an implementation of the purchase and files a lawsuit.
After Elon Musk withdrew from the takeover agreement, Twitter made good on its announcement and sued the tech billionaire. The online platform accuses Musk of breach of contract and wants to court him to complete the purchase, according to the 60-page lawsuit filed in a Delaware court. Musk's reason for withdrawing from the billion-euro deal agreed in April was "hypocrisy," Twitter said.
The founder of the electric car manufacturer Tesla and the richest person in the world had the planned takeover of Twitter for a price of 44 billion dollars burst last Friday because of allegedly "false and misleading" information from the short message service. In particular, he accuses Twitter of providing incorrect or missing information about the number of spam or fake profiles on the platform. The group had given their share in previous reports at up to five percent, Musk doubted this number after the takeover, but could not prove it so far.
After Musk's resignation, the Twitter board of directors immediately declared that they wanted to go to court and use legal means to force him to complete the purchase. The company has now filed the announced lawsuit before a Delaware court specializing in business disputes.
"Musk's conduct simply confirms that he wants to escape from the binding contract he voluntarily signed and that he wants to damage Twitter in the process," the lawsuit reads. "Twitter has suffered irreparable harm as a result of the suspect's violations and will continue to suffer irreparable harm."
The court will now have to decide whether or not Musk can withdraw from the agreement. In their agreement, the multi-billionaire and Twitter had stipulated a contractual penalty of up to one billion dollars – around one billion euros – if one party withdraws.
Musk and Twitter agreed in April that the celebrated and controversial entrepreneur would take over the online platform. In the weeks that followed, however, the Twitter share experienced a fall in price.
