Elon Musk appears poised to meet Friday’s deadline to reseal his deal to buy Twitter, and avoid a lawsuit over the $44 billion deal he admitted to. Do that is more expensive.
After he tried to block the sale, Twitter sued Musk to block the deal he signed in April to buy the social media giant.
With a trial, the unlikely billionaire capitulates and reinstates his takeover plan.
Musk signaled the deal was OK by changing his Twitter profile to “ChiefTweet” on Wednesday and posting a video of himself carrying a sink into the company’s California headquarters.
“Let it sink in!” he sneered.
“I think we’ll get an announcement on Friday that says Elon Musk has bought Twitter,” Adam Badawi, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told JEE News.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has reportedly been providing financial support since Delaware Judge Kathleen McCormick halted the lawsuit on Oct. 6.
Badawi added that if the purchase doesn’t close by the end of the business day, the judge will likely “bring down the hammer” and hold a trial soon.
Musk tried to back out of the Twitter deal soon after his unsolicited offer was accepted, and said in July that he was canceling the deal because he had been misled by Twitter about the number of fake “bot” accounts. .
Twitter, in turn, tried to insinuate that Musk, the head of the Tesla electric vehicle company, was making excuses to step down just because he changed his mind.
“I’m excited about the Twitter situation,” Musk said during Tesla’s recent earnings call.
“I think it’s an asset that’s just been slow for a long time but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now.”
Twitter Free For All?
While pitching the deal to investors, Musk said he planned to lay off about three-quarters of Twitter’s workforce, according to a Washington Post report.
The report came as a shock to Twitter’s workplace, where some employees who don’t want to work for Musk have already left, said one worker who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak more freely. Said not to.
“But a portion of people, including myself, are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now,” the employee said of Musk.
“The more I hear about him, the more I like him, but I find it pretty funny that he brought a sink to headquarters just for fun.”
Musk’s patronage of the site has sparked concern among activists who fear it could open the door to more abuse and misinformation posts.
He has vowed to dial down content moderation, and is expected to clear the way for former US President Donald Trump to return to the platform.
The then-president was held back by fears that he would incite more violence, like the deadly attack on the Capitol in Washington, to end his election defeat.
After the deal closes, Musk will essentially be handed the keys to Twitter and will be in charge of the global platform for frequent distribution.
“Twitter’s current board is likely going to be fired; Musk will add directors who are his friends, he will add to the management,” Badawi said.
He doubted Musk would want to be chief executive because he already runs Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.
Trump now posts on his own, much smaller, platform, TruthSocial, and has vowed not to return to Twitter even after Musk takes office.
The former president, who is considering another run at the White House in 2024, has 4.18 million followers on Truth Social, compared to 88.8 million on Twitter.
