Musk faces deposition with Twitter ahead of October trial

Posted at 2:24 PM, September 26, 2022 and last updated 3:03 PM, July 14, 2023

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to spend the next few days with lawyers for Twitter, answering questions ahead of an October trial that will determine whether he must carry through with his $44 billion agreement to acquire the social platform after attempting to back out of the deal.

FILE – Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. Musk will spend Monday, Sept. 26, 2022 and Tuesday, Sept. 27 with lawyers for Twitter, answering questions ahead of an October trial that will determine whether he must fork over the $44 billion he agreed to pay for the social platform before attempting to back out of the deal. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The deposition, planned for Monday, Tuesday and a possible extension on Wednesday, will not be public. As of Sunday evening it was not clear whether Musk will appear in person or by video. The trial is set to begin October 17 in Delaware Chancery Court, where it’s scheduled to last just five days.

Musk, the world’s richest man, agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private, offering $54.20 a share and vowing to loosen the company’s policing of content and to root out fake accounts. Twitter shares closed Friday at $41.58.

Musk indicated in July that he wanted to back away from the deal, prompting Twitter to file a lawsuit to force him to carry through with the acquisition.