Musk Can Use Whistleblower Claim, But Not Delay Case As It Would Risk Further Harm To Twitter, Says Judge

On Tuesday, Spiro urged that the trial should be postponed for several weeks so that Musk may look into allegations of security on the social media platform made by a whistleblower.

Tesla chief Elon Musk

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New Delhi: A judge hearing Tesla chief Elon Musk's request to delay the case on Wednesday said the billionaire entrepreneur can use a whistleblower's claims in his legal case against Twitter Inc but cannot delay the trial. "I am convinced that even four weeks' delay would risk further harm to Twitter," wrote Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware's Court of Chancery,  reported news agency Reuters

"We are hopeful that winning the motion to amend takes us one step closer to the truth coming out in that courtroom," noted Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk.

What was Musk’s request?

On Tuesday, Spiro urged that the trial should be postponed for several weeks so that Musk may look into allegations of security on the social media platform made by a whistleblower. In the initial case against Twitter, Musk claimed the company misrepresented the prevalence of spam or bot accounts on the platform.

Whistleblower Peiter Zatko's charges made public last month gave Musk, the richest man in the world, new support for his improbable attempt to terminate the agreement without paying a $1-billion termination fee, according to legal experts.

Meanwhile, the statement from Twitter spokesperson said, "We look forward to presenting our case in court beginning on Oct. 17th and intend to close the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Musk.” Twitter's lawyer on Tuesday presented a message from Musk during the process of litigation that showed the billionaire was not actually concerned about spam accounts.

Musk sent a message to a Morgan Stanley banker in May, as Russian President Vladimir Putin was warning the West over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, that read "it won't make sense to buy Twitter if we're heading into World War III."

It is to be noted that the contract allows Musk to walk away from the deal based on certain narrow conditions, although a war is specifically excluded.

"Substantial Portion" Of Twitter Users Fake In 2016: Former Disney CEO

 

Meanwhile, former Disney CEO Bob Iger in his revelationsaid the company had determined that a "substantial portion" of Twitter's users were "not real" in 2016, when it was looking to purchase the social network. Iger said the Walt Disney Co and Twitter Inc boards were about to enter negotiations when he got cold feet, reported news agency Reuters. He said that through Twitter, Disney had learned that a substantial portion - though not a majority - of users were fake.

"I remember discounting the value," as a result, Iger said, in remarks Wednesday at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills.