TESLA CEO Elon Musk fired back Friday at Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force him to complete his USD 44 billion acquisition of the platform, according to multiple news reports. In a filing with the Delaware Court of Chancery, Musk’s lawyers accused Twitter of withholding information about fake accounts — a longtime preoccupation for Musk — and of creating delays, providing evasive responses and putting up technical obstacles. The filing also disputed Twitter’s request for an expedited trial, claiming that it would take months to obtain information from Twitter and to depose numerous witnesses on the subject of fake accounts.

 

Back in April, Musk pledged to pay USD 54.20 a share for Twitter, which agreed to those terms after reversing its initial opposition to the deal. But the two sides have been bracing for a legal fight since the billionaire said a week ago that he was backing away from his agreement to buy the company.