According to a court filing by the social media giant, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is under federal investigation; Twitter claims that it has “engaged in substantive communications regarding these authorities’ investigations through its attorneys.”
Twitter says federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk
Twitter revealed in court documents released Thursday that it is under federal investigation in connection with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to acquire the social media platform.
In a letter dated October 6 to Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, who is overseeing the company’s lawsuit against Musk, Twitter’s attorney noted that since July 22 he has been seeking documents from Musk regarding the investigation. The attorney wrote the following.
Mr. Elon Musk is currently under investigation by federal authorities for conduct related to the Twitter acquisition. Through his attorney, he has exchanged substantive correspondence regarding those authorities’ investigations.
While emphasizing that these documents “relate to important issues in this litigation,” the attorney stressed that
“Twitter requested these documents several months ago. But now, 11 days before trial, [the defendant] has yet to produce them.” He emphasized.
In their letter, Twitter’s lawyers also referred to a letter allegedly sent to Musk in June by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to Twitter, the SEC was seeking information related to Musk’s May tweet, indicating that “the deal cannot move forward” until the social media company provides more information about spam and fraudulent accounts on its platform.
The SEC also investigated Twitter regarding the company’s methods of identifying spam accounts; in a letter dated July 27, the SEC told Twitter. ‘We have completed our review of your submission. We remind you that, with or without staff review, comment, or action, the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of its disclosures.”
Musk initially agreed to buy Twitter in April for about $44 billion. But he later tried to back out of the deal, accusing Twitter of material breach of contract; in July, he formally terminated his offer to acquire Twitter, claiming that the social media company had not been transparent about the number of bots and fake accounts on its platform . Musk explained multiple reasons for terminating the deal.
{But last week, Musk said he would buy Twitter for the agreed-upon $54.20 a share. The court gave him until October 28 to complete the acquisition to avoid a trial. Musk said the Twitter acquisition will accelerate the creation of “X, the everything app.”
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