A timeline of Elon Musk's 9-month chaotic saga to buy Twitter, from him tweeting a poop emoji at the CEO to a whistleblower appearing before Congress

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Grace Kay,Katie CanalesSep 14, 2022, 00:05 IST
A timeline of Elon Musk's 9-month chaotic saga to buy Twitter, from him tweeting a poop emoji at the CEO to a whistleblower appearing before Congress

Britta Pedersen/Getty Images; Twitter; Rachel Mendelson/Insider

  • Elon Musk's will-he-won't-he dance to buy Twitter has been going on for months.
  • Events were set in motion when Musk began buying more Twitter shares in January.

Elon Musk and Twitter's chaotic saga rages on, and it's nowhere near resolved.

It's a tale that's spanned nine months – beginning with Musk buying up Twitter shares in January, all the way to the company's ex-security chief-turned-whistleblower appearing before Congress on Tuesday.

If you're hazy on some of the events within that time period, we've compiled a full timeline of developments, from Musk tweeting a poop emoji at CEO Parag Agrawal to Twitter and Musk suing each other.

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In January, Musk began purchasing Twitter shares on an almost daily basis, records show.

In January, Musk began purchasing Twitter shares on an almost daily basis, records show.
Elon MuskPatrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

By March 14, Musk had a 5% stake in the social media company — a threshold that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deems large enough to require a public disclosure.

The Washington Post estimates that the Tesla CEO saved about $156 million, or 30%, by delaying disclosure until after the SEC's March 25 deadline and buying the stock at a lower price.

The billionaire did not reveal his stake until April 4 when he had amassed about 9.2% of Twitter's shares.

The billionaire did not reveal his stake until April 4 when he had amassed about 9.2% of Twitter's shares.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters

The next day, Twitter told the SEC it intended to appoint Musk to its board of directors.

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On April 10, news surfaced that Musk had chosen not to join the board.

On April 10, news surfaced that Musk had chosen not to join the board.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced on Twitter that the billionaire had decided not to join the board after the Tesla CEO had spent weeks tweeting about his ideas for Twitter, including discussing turning the company's headquarters into a homeless shelter or adding an edit button.

"I believe this is for the best," Agrawal said.

On April 14, Musk offered to buy the company for $54.20 per share.

On April 14, Musk offered to buy the company for $54.20 per share.
Elon Musk speaks at an oil and gas conference in Stavanger, Norway.Reuters

The deal valued the company at $44 billion.

Twitter threw up a corporate defensive measure called a poison pill designed to stop Musk's hostile-takeover attempt.

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The next week, however, Twitter’s board accepted Musk’s offer.

The next week, however, Twitter’s board accepted Musk’s offer.
Maja Hitij/Getty Images

In accepting the deal, Musk waived all due diligence — relinquishing his right as a buyer to further investigate the state of the company ahead of acquiring it.

On May 13, the billionaire tweeted that the deal was “on hold”

On May 13, the billionaire tweeted that the deal was “on hold”
A side-by-side image of Agrawal and Musk.Getty Images

He posted that tweet as his team investigated the company's claim that less than 5% of its accounts are fake and spam.

Agrawal posted a thread on Twitter explaining how the company settled on that 5% figure. Musk responded to the thread with a poop emoji.

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The next month, Musk filed a complaint with the SEC.

The next month, Musk filed a complaint with the SEC.
Elon Musk.REUTERS/Adrees Latif

He claimed that Twitter was "actively resisting and thwarting [Musk's] information rights." In the letter, he threatened to abandon the purchase agreement and said he had the right not to see the deal through.

In response, Twitter said it gave Musk full access to its "firehose" of data.

In response, Twitter said it gave Musk full access to its "firehose" of data.
Alex Kantrowitz

The billionaire also attended his first all-hands meeting with the company's staff.

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On July 8, Musk's legal team notified the SEC that he planned to walk away from the merger.

On July 8, Musk's legal team notified the SEC that he planned to walk away from the merger.
Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.Jed Jacobsohn/AP

Twitter's board said it would take legal action to enforce the original agreement.

Source: SEC

Twitter fired back on July 12 by suing Musk and accusing him of “refusing to honor his obligations.”

Twitter fired back on July 12 by suing Musk and accusing him of “refusing to honor his obligations.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, Andrew Kelly/Reuters

In the first pretrial hearing, on July 19, Twitter scored its first win against Musk after the judge agreed to an expedited five-day trial in October.

"The longer the merger transaction remains in limbo, the larger a cloud of uncertainty is cast over the company," Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick said.

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On August 4, Musk countersued Twitter.

On August 4, Musk countersued Twitter.
Elon Musk.AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Musk alleged the company is operating a "scheme to mislead investors about the company's prospects."

In the countersuit, Musk's team argues he is entitled to drop the deal because he claims Twitter is intentionally "miscounting" the number of spam accounts on its platform.

Over 100 subpoenas were then served across both sides.

Over 100 subpoenas were then served across both sides.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is among those who were subpoenaed.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Some of Musk's closest associates, as well as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, were included.

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Then came the whistleblower.

Then came the whistleblower.
Peiter Zatko (left) and Elon Musk.Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images/The Washington Post via Getty Images

On August 23, The Washington Post published an explosive 84-page whistleblower complaint from renowned hacker and former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko.

In the complaint, the security chief — better known as "Mudge" — accused the company of "lying" to Elon Musk about spam accounts on its site, and having poor security practices that could violate a previous FTC settlement agreement.

A Twitter spokesperson said the claims are "riddled with inaccuracies" and that Zatko was fired for "ineffective leadership and poor performance."

Within a week, Musk's legal team subpoenaed Zatko.

Within a week, Musk's legal team subpoenaed Zatko.
Ex-Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko.Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

His team also filed a motion to amend its countersuit to include the whistleblower's allegations.

In the second pre-trial hearing, in August, Musk's team scored a small win when the judge partially granted Musk's demand for Twitter to produce more data on scam accounts.

However, the judge called the billionaire's original request for "trillions upon trillions" of data points "absurdly broad."

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Last week, Musk took another loss in a pre-trial hearing after the judge denied his request to delay the trial.

Last week, Musk took another loss in a pre-trial hearing after the judge denied his request to delay the trial.
Elon Musk.Patrick Pleul/AP

The judge allowed the billionaire to amend his countersuit to include allegations from Twitter's whistleblower, but she had some harsh words for his legal team — calling their efforts to cooperate with Twitter's discovery process "suboptimal."

During the hearing, it was revealed that Musk had told a banker at Morgan Stanley to "slow down" the deal in May.

During the hearing, it was revealed that Musk had told a banker at Morgan Stanley to "slow down" the deal in May.
Musk asked Tesla executives to stop recruiting.Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images

That happened well before he officially said he planned to back out of the purchase. The billionaire said he wouldn't want to buy the company "if we're heading into World War 3" with Russia.

Source: Insider

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On Monday, Twitter slammed Musk's third attempt to get out of the deal as "invalid and wrongful."

On Monday, Twitter slammed Musk's third attempt to get out of the deal as "invalid and wrongful."
Getty Images

In its most recent letter to the social media company, Musk's legal team argued that Twitter had breached its agreement with Musk in allegedly offering Zatko a $7.75 million severance package.

Source: Insider

On Tuesday, Twitter’s shareholders are expected to approve Musk’s original $44 billion purchase agreement

On Tuesday, Twitter’s shareholders are expected to approve Musk’s original $44 billion purchase agreement
Experts say Musk's teflon-like ability to evade repercussions is due to a complex interplay of exceptionalism, a fierce cult-like fandom, and a culture of "billionaire worship."Gotham/Getty Images

That puts the fate of the deal entirely in the hands of the court case, which is set for a five-day trial in October.

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Zatko appeared before Congress on Tuesday.

Zatko appeared before Congress on Tuesday.
Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on data security at Twitter, on Capitol Hill, September 13, 2022.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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