The first on the forehead for Elon Musk. Money is not everything and being the richest in the world is not a license letter.
Kathaleen St.Jude McCormick, the presiding judge of the Delaware court, specializing in business disputes, ruled in favor of Twitter on Tuesday. She has agreed to a speedy trial, scheduling a five-day hearing in October, for the platform's demand to execute the $44 billion takeover that Tesla's owner agreed to last April. This decision represents a defeat for Musk, who tried to delay the matter as long as possible.
The judge alluded to "the cloud of uncertainty" over the social network due to the tycoon's decision to back down on his purchase agreement. "The delay threatens irreparable damage," stressed McCormick, who has long experience in this type of conflict. "The longer the delay, the higher the risk," he said.
During the hearing, Twitter's lawyer, Bill Savitt, argued that the platform required an expedited trial for next September, in accordance with other similar cases. He insisted that a speedy oral hearing is "imperative to stop the continued deterioration that Twitter has experienced due to the uncertainty of the reversal of the pact and the alleged disparagement of Musk."
He also argued that the titan's attempt to delay the trial may be a trap to run out of time and leave little room before the debt commitment that was made to finance the settlement expires.
Andrew Rossman, Musk's lawyer, countered that forcing a speedy trial was overly aggressive in order to review the data on Twitter and the alleged bots and fake accounts that count as real. The electric car entrepreneur has insisted on being aware of the reality of the platform.
"Twitter wants to continue to be shrouded in secrecy," Rossman charged.
