Just 10 days before the trial on his bid to walk away from the $44 billion (roughly Rs 3,59,600 crore) takeover, Twitter’s lawyers have rescheduled Elon Musk’s testimony from this week to October 6-7, and there could be a delay. In favor of a social network company.
The world’s richest man was scheduled to testify this week, but sources close to the case said on Monday that the timing of the interview could always change due to the fast-paced nature of the trial.
Both sides are taking dozens of depositions and reviewing thousands of documents and communications in preparation for a five-day trial that begins Oct. 17 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said the timing of the deposition is important and that Twitter would be better off delaying Musk’s interview until it receives his communications.
“You’re going to delay your best witnesses until last, as much as possible, so you have all the discovery,” Quinn said.
Later on Tuesday, Twitter will ask Chancellor Kathleen McCormick to punish Musk, the chief executive of automotive company Tesla, for ignoring court orders by his legal team to return Musk’s messages about his decision to end the contract.
Musk’s response to Twitter’s motion was filed under seal. His lawyers have said in the past that the social media company was accusing Musk of withholding documents and messages to distract the court from the company’s own search for misconduct.
Kasturi’s testimony is expected to be a key part of the trial. In past testimony, he was fighting under oath.
Twitter’s lawyers are expected to try to show that Musk walked away from the deal because of a downturn in financial markets.
Twitter wants McCormick to order Musk to close the deal at an agreed price of $54.20 (about Rs 4,400) per share. The billionaire is ruling that Twitter breached the contract by withholding critical information about users, allowing Musk to walk away without penalty.
