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  4. Twitter is about to get its first chance to question Elon Musk under oath, and it's making a rare move in also deposing his lawyer

Twitter is about to get its first chance to question Elon Musk under oath, and it's making a rare move in also deposing his lawyer

Grace Kay   

Twitter is about to get its first chance to question Elon Musk under oath, and it's making a rare move in also deposing his lawyer
Tech2 min read
  • Elon Musk will sit for a two to three-day deposition next week in Delaware.
  • It's Twitter's first chance to question Musk under oath regarding his decision to ditch the deal.

Twitter is set to question Elon Musk under oath for the first time next week regarding the billionaire's attempts to abandon his $44 billion agreement to buy the social media company.

The deposition will take place privately at a law office in Delaware on September 26 and 27 — and could potentially extend into a third day of questioning, Reuters reports.

Musk has argued that he wants to sever the agreement by alleging that Twitter has intentionally misrepresented the number of users on its platform. Most recently, Musk's legal team has amended its countersuit to include an explosive whistleblower complaint from a former Twitter security chief.

Meanwhile, Twitter has argued that Musk is merely trying to get out of the agreement for economic concerns. The company has also alleged that the billionaire is attempting to retrieve inside data on Twitter in order to create his own competitor.

In August, Twitter filed a request to see all of Musk's texts related to the acquisition. Earlier this month, Twitter's lawyers cited a text between Musk and his banker that was sent several months before he notified the company of his plans to sever the purchase agreement. In the text, the Tesla CEO said he wanted to "slow down" the deal over concerns of a potential World War III with Russia. The company has also requested texts and information from some of Musk's closest friends.

During the pretrial discovery process, Twitter's lawyers have repeatedly complained of a lack of compliance from Musk and his legal team. Earlier this month, the Delaware judge overseeing the case called Musk's lawyers "suboptimal" in their efforts to produce people with knowledge of the deal. Twitter's lawyers have also cited instances when Musk's legal team allegedly failed to produce texts that had been subpoenaed that were later produced by other parties, according to court filings.

Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, will also be deposed next week, according to a report from Bloomberg. Larry Hamermesh, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, told the publication Twitter's decision to question Musk's go-to lawyer is "very odd."

"Legal privilege excludes him from talking about any aspect of the case, so it's puzzling what topics they think they can explore with him," Hamermesh said.

On Tuesday, Musk's legal team brought Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey in for a deposition over zoom. Over the past few months both sides have subpoenaed over 100 people. The five-day trial will begin on October 17 in Delaware Court of Chancery.


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