Twitter and Elon Musk sparred in court on Tuesday, each seeking evidence to win a high-stakes trial next month over the billionaire’s bid to break his buyout deal.
Musk is eager to find evidence to back up his investors, accusing Twitter of misleading regulators about what fraction of accounts are spam or software “bots,” as well as its key growth measures.
Twitter, which has sued Musk to compel him to complete the $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,60,140 crore) buyout deal, is seeking material or testimony to prove that he is making excuses to walk away because he changed his mind.
Twitter’s lawyer told the judge that it was a struggle to get documents from the data scientists Musk was using to estimate the proportion of fake accounts on the social network, and that what they ultimately found did not support his allegations that it was more than five percent.
Attorney Brad Wilson argued that Twitter had a “pattern of delay and confusion” about what it learned from data scientists when Musk studied Twitter data.
Kasturi’s lawyers, in turn, pressured the judge to hand over more messages or other content, specifically with respect to “earnable daily active users” and “user active minutes.”
The hearing followed an discovery phase in which the opposing sides sought documents, emails, depositions and more to support their positions.
A long list of those called to provide documents or answer questions in the case includes Twitter co-founder and former chief Jack Dorsey.
Tesla chief Musk will be deposed under oath for two days next week in sessions to be recorded by “stenographic, audio and visual means”.
Musk is scheduled to testify privately at his legal office ahead of a five-day trial that begins Oct. 17 in Chancery Court in the state of Delaware.
Musk, the world’s richest man, said in a letter in April that he was canceling the deal because Twitter misled him about the number of bot accounts on its platform, a claim the company denied.
He later added the allegations to a whistleblower complaint filed by Twitter’s former security chief among his reasons for walking away from his contract.
Twitter has stood by its assessment of the number of users and has portrayed whistleblowers as “disgruntled ex-employees” without merit.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said of the lawsuit, “There are a number of possibilities that could come out of a Delaware court, including settlement, payment of breakup fees, enforcement of the contract and a myriad of other outcomes.”
“We believe there is a possibility behind the scenes that both parties will try to negotiate before stepping into court in a few weeks.”
