How are things going with the Twitter – Musk lawsuit, that is scheduled for October of 2022? Signs point to it not going very well for Elon Musk, who wants to terminate his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.
CNBC reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold 7.92 million shares of Tesla worth around $6.88 billion, according to a series of financial filings published Tuesday night. According to CNBC, Musk’s transactions occurred between Aug. 5 and 9, the SEC filings revealed, following Tesla’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting on August 4 in Austin, Texas.
The centi-billionaire is in the midst of a contentious legal battle with Twitter, the social networking giant he agreed to acquire in April for about $44 billion or $54.20 per share, CNBC reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported the Tesla boss has been on a selling spree over the past year, during which he has cashed out roughly $32 billion worth of shares in the electric-vehicle maker. That includes around $8.5 billion of sales in April, while Mr. Musk was lining up to take over Twitter. At the time, he tweeted: “No further TSLA sales planned after today.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Musk has since tried to walk away from buying Twitter, which is suing him to enforce the takeover. If the judge were to force Mr. Musk to consummate the transaction, he could be on the hook for more than $33 billion in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. He already owns 9% of Twitter, valued at roughly $3 billion at $54.20 a share, Mr. Musk’s buyout price.
If the Twitter deal doesn’t close, Mr. Musk would buy Tesla stock again, he said. He also suggested he might set up his own social media platform – X.com – if the deal falls through. He said before agreeing to buy Twitter that he was “giving serious thought” to such an endeavor, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In March, Reuters reported that Elon Musk was giving “serious thought” to build new social media platform. This was in response to a Twitter user’s question on whether he would consider building a social media platform consisting of an open source algorithm and one that would prioritize free speech, and where propaganda was minimal.
Reuter’s also reported that none of the other social media companies, including Donald Trump’s Truth Social, Twitter competitors Gettr and Parler and video site Rumble have come close to matching the reach and popularity of the mainstream platforms so far.
If I had to guess, I would say that the judge who is presiding over the Twitter-Musk lawsuit is going to force Elon Musk to consummate the transaction to buy Twitter. If that happens, I expect there will be dramatic changes to how Twitter functions, and who it attracts.
However, if Musk’s lawyers can make a convincing case that causes the judge to allow him to opt-out of the transaction to buy Twitter – I suppose that would leave Mr. Musk open to starting his own social media company.