Elon Musk Vs Twitter: Tesla Chief Faces Deposition With Microblogging Firm Ahead Of Trial On October 17

Musk had hit out at Twitter repeatedly and earlier this month claimed that 90 per cent of the comments on his tweets are actually bots or spam replies.  

In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced to back out from the deal prompting Twitter to file a lawsuit | Image Source: Getty Images

New Delhi: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to depose in front of lawyers for Twitter and respond to questions ahead of an October trial that will determine the course of his $44 billion acquisition to acquire the social platform after trying to pull out of the deal.

According to the Associate Press, Musk’s deposition which is part of Twitter's lawsuit seeking to force Musk to follow through on his deal will take place on Monday, Tuesday with a possible extension on Wednesday.

The deposition will not be public. It is not yet known if the billionaire entrepreneur will appear in person or by video. The trial is set to begin on October 17 in Delaware Chancery Court and last for five days.

The world's richest man agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private, offering $54.20 a share in an attempt to restructure the company's policing of content and to root out fake accounts. In July, Musk announced to back out from the deal prompting Twitter to file a lawsuit to force him to carry through with the acquisition.

Musk had hit out at Twitter repeatedly and earlier this month claimed that 90 per cent of the comments on his tweets are actually bots or spam replies.  Musk targeted the Parag Agrawal-led platform after a top cybersecurity expert claimed that as high as eight in 10 Twitter accounts are fake.

Earlier, a judge in a hearing denied any delay in the case and agreed that the billionaire entrepreneur can use a whistleblower's claims in his legal case against Twitter Inc.  Whistleblower Peiter Zatko alleged earlier this month "extreme, egregious deficiencies" by the social media platform related to privacy, security, and content moderation.

Zatko’s charges made public last month offered new support to Musk for his improbable attempt to terminate the agreement without paying a $1-billion termination fee, according to legal experts.

Musk has mentioned about the whistleblower in the new filing to scrap the deal. 

(With Agency Inputs)