Elon Musk And Twitter Look For Evidence As Trial Unfolds

Elon Musk and Twitter sparred in court on Tuesday, each searching for proof to win a crucial trial scheduled for next month on the billionaire’s attempt to renege on his buyout agreement. Musk has been eager to gather proof to support his claim that Twitter misled regulators and investors about the percentage of accounts that are actually spam or computer “bots,” as well as the platform’s major growth indicators.

Twitter is looking for evidence or testimony to show Musk is inventing justifications to withdraw from the $44 billion takeover offer because he changed his mind. Twitter has sued Musk to force him to complete the deal. A Twitter attorney testified before the judge that it was difficult to obtain the data scientists’ documents that Musk used to calculate the percentage of fictitious accounts on the social network, and that what they eventually obtained did not support his claim that the figure was much higher than five percent.

When it comes to what Musk discovered from data scientists he hired to analyze Twitter data, attorney Brad Wilson claimed that Twitter has had a “pattern of delay and obfuscation.” In response, Musk’s lawyers urged the judge to order Twitter to turn over more messages or other documents, especially those pertaining to “monetizable daily active users” and “user active minutes.”
The hearing took place during the discovery phase, in which the opposing sides are looking for papers, emails, depositions, and other evidence to support their claims. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey is one of a lengthy list of people who have been asked to submit documents or respond to inquiries in the case.

In sessions that will be recorded by “stenographic, acoustic, and visual technologies,” Tesla CEO Musk will be cross-examined while under oath. Prior to a five-day trial that is planned to start on October 17 in the Court of Chancery in the state of Delaware, Musk’s postponed deposition is expected to take place in private in law offices.