Elon Musk's Twitter Deal Likely to Be Decided in Court
2022-07-19
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1In April, Twitter accepted American billionaire Elon Musk's offer to buy the social media service for $44 billion.
2But earlier this month, Musk withdrew his offer.
3Twitter reacted by bringing a legal case against Musk to force him to buy the company.
4Legal experts say Twitter wants to complete the deal that both sides agreed to.
5The company said Musk's reasons for backing out are just a cover for changing his mind.
6In April, Musk offered to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter.
7The company accepted the offer after opposing the sale earlier.
8Musk accused Twitter of not giving him enough information about how many spam accounts appear on the service.
9But Twitter argues that Musk is refusing "to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests."
10Musk agreed to pay 38 percent above Twitter's stock price at the time he offered a "take it or leave it" deal, the legal case states.
11But soon after, the stock market suffered a big drop. Many stocks lost value.
12This led to shares of electric carmaker Tesla, which Musk owns, to lose more than $100 billion in value.
13Most of Musk's personal wealth comes from his holdings of Tesla stock.
14If the two sides do not reach a settlement out of court, the case will go to trial and a judge could start making decisions this summer.
15Twitter has told its employees it asked for an "expedited trial" to be heard in September.
16The company said it is "critically important" to get the case tried quickly.
17But experts say a trial could last weeks or longer.
18"Twitter would probably want to get things done fast. Elon, I don't know," Lawrence Cunningham told The Associated Press.
19He is a law professor and corporate legal expert at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
20Musk reacted officially to Twitter's legal case, or lawsuit, on Friday.
21His lawyers gave a written request to the court hearing the case in the northeastern state of Delaware.
22In the request, Musk again accused Twitter of keeping spam account data from him.
23The document also disputed Twitter's request for an "expedited" trial.
24Musk's lawyers said it would take months to gather information from Twitter on the spam account issue and to identify and speak to witnesses.
25The document also repeated several other accusations Musk has made in the past.
26They include a claim that Twitter violated terms of the deal when it dismissed two high-level company officials without first informing Musk.
27The spam account question will likely be a central part of the case.
28That is the main reason Musk gave for backing out of or withdrawing from the deal.
29Twitter claims in its lawsuit that Musk started saying he wanted to buy Twitter to remove "crypto spam."
30Musk said he considered it a "major blight on the user experience."
31But Twitter claims that, when the stock market dropped, "Musk shifted his narrative."
32The company said the billionaire then demanded proof that spam was not a serious problem on the service.
33The court will examine whether the spam issue presents a "material breach" of Twitter's obligation in the deal, as Musk claims.
34On the other hand, it will look at whether Musk violated his obligation to follow through with the contract that he signed.
35Legal experts say it is possible that a court could force Musk to buy Twitter.
36But others say the court may not go that far.
37Another outcome could be for the court to force Musk to pay $1 billion.
38That is an amount each side agreed to if Musk fails to complete the deal.
39Or Musk might have to pay another amount without buying the company for $44 billion.
40I'm Bryan Lynn.
1In April, Twitter accepted American billionaire Elon Musk's offer to buy the social media service for $44 billion. 2But earlier this month, Musk withdrew his offer. Twitter reacted by bringing a legal case against Musk to force him to buy the company. 3Why did Twitter take Musk to court? 4Legal experts say Twitter wants to complete the deal that both sides agreed to. The company said Musk's reasons for backing out are just a cover for changing his mind. 5In April, Musk offered to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter. The company accepted the offer after opposing the sale earlier. 6Musk accused Twitter of not giving him enough information about how many spam accounts appear on the service. But Twitter argues that Musk is refusing "to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests." 7Musk agreed to pay 38 percent above Twitter's stock price at the time he offered a "take it or leave it" deal, the legal case states. But soon after, the stock market suffered a big drop. Many stocks lost value. This led to shares of electric carmaker Tesla, which Musk owns, to lose more than $100 billion in value. Most of Musk's personal wealth comes from his holdings of Tesla stock. 8What happens next? 9If the two sides do not reach a settlement out of court, the case will go to trial and a judge could start making decisions this summer. Twitter has told its employees it asked for an "expedited trial" to be heard in September. The company said it is "critically important" to get the case tried quickly. 10But experts say a trial could last weeks or longer. "Twitter would probably want to get things done fast. Elon, I don't know," Lawrence Cunningham told The Associated Press. He is a law professor and corporate legal expert at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. 11How has Musk reacted? 12Musk reacted officially to Twitter's legal case, or lawsuit, on Friday. His lawyers gave a written request to the court hearing the case in the northeastern state of Delaware. 13In the request, Musk again accused Twitter of keeping spam account data from him. The document also disputed Twitter's request for an "expedited" trial. Musk's lawyers said it would take months to gather information from Twitter on the spam account issue and to identify and speak to witnesses. 14The document also repeated several other accusations Musk has made in the past. They include a claim that Twitter violated terms of the deal when it dismissed two high-level company officials without first informing Musk. 15What are the sides arguing about? 16The spam account question will likely be a central part of the case. That is the main reason Musk gave for backing out of or withdrawing from the deal. 17Twitter claims in its lawsuit that Musk started saying he wanted to buy Twitter to remove "crypto spam." Musk said he considered it a "major blight on the user experience." 18But Twitter claims that, when the stock market dropped, "Musk shifted his narrative." The company said the billionaire then demanded proof that spam was not a serious problem on the service. 19The court will examine whether the spam issue presents a "material breach" of Twitter's obligation in the deal, as Musk claims. On the other hand, it will look at whether Musk violated his obligation to follow through with the contract that he signed. 20Could Musk be forced to buy Twitter? 21Legal experts say it is possible that a court could force Musk to buy Twitter. But others say the court may not go that far. 22Another outcome could be for the court to force Musk to pay $1 billion. That is an amount each side agreed to if Musk fails to complete the deal. Or Musk might have to pay another amount without buying the company for $44 billion. 23I'm Bryan Lynn. 24The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 25_________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27spam - n. unwanted internet messages 28obligation - n. something a person does because it is their duty, or they feel they have to 29irony - n. a situation in which the opposite happens than what was expected 30expedite - v. to make a process of action happen more quickly 31blight - n. something that has a very bad effect on something 32shift - n. change a course of action 33narrative - n. a story or description of events 34breach - n. an action that breaks a rule, agreement or law 35_________________________________________________________________ 36What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 37Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.