Twitter calls Elon Musk's attempt to back out of his takeover deal 'invalid and wrongful'

• Twitter has responded to Elon Musk attempting to walk away from his deal to buy Twitter.
• In an email sent Sunday, Twitter's lawyers called Musk's decision "invalid and wrongful."

Twitter isn't backing down from a fight with Elon Musk.

Lawyers for the social-media platform responded on Sunday to Musk's decision last week to walk away from a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, calling the move "invalid and wrongful."

"The purported termination is invalid for the independent reason that Mr. Musk and the other Musk parties have knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and materially breached the agreement," William Savitt, an attorney representing Twitter, wrote in the letter.

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A letter sent Friday by Musk's lawyers argued that Twitter failed to comply with its contractual obligations to disclose how many fake accounts there are on Twitter's platform, and accused Twitter of ignoring or outright refusing Musk's requests for information about Twitter's users and its business practices.

Twitter's lawyers disputed the claims, saying the company would continue to "provide information reasonably requested by Mr. Musk under the agreement and to diligently take all measures required to close the transaction."

Musk appeared to respond to the letter Monday afternoon, tweeting a still of a character from the video game "Elden Ring" that suggested he's ready to do battle.

—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2022

Legal experts told Insider that backing out of the deal won't be simple for Musk and will likely lead to a court battle. The terms of the deal include a $1 billion termination fee, a fee Musk doesn't think he should have to pay, Insider reported. And as Twitter's latest letter makes clear, the company still wants the deal to close, which could lead to a protracted legal battle.

While it's possible that the two parties could reach a settlement or renegotiate the sale price, even experts are uncertain how this saga will play out.

"Legally, this isn't a hard case," Ann Lipton, a business law professor at Tulane University Law School, told Insider. "Most cases of this sort have a much stronger argument, but Elon Musk is always an X factor."