Elon Musk-Twitter saga: Tesla CEO's responses to lawsuit set to be made public by August 5

Tesla chief Elon Musk's response to Twitter's lawsuit over his attempt to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy the microblogging site is expected to be made public by Friday evening, August 5. Earlier on Wednesday, Musk's legal representatives sought to file a public version of their response and counterclaims in the Delaware court, United States. However, Twitter lawyers objected to this saying that they needed additional time to review and possibly declassify Musk's sealed filing because it "extensively" alludes to Twitter data and internal information that was provided to the Tesla CEO. 

After a brief teleconference on August 3, Kathaleen McCormick, Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, agreed with Twitter and ordered that the public filing must be submitted by Friday evening. However, it could also be filed sooner depending on when Twitter's attorneys finish their assessment. “Few cases attract as much public interest as this one, and Twitter is mindful of this court’s commitment to ensuring maximum public access to its proceedings. Twitter has no interest in proposing any more redactions to defendants’ responsive pleading than necessary,” Twitter attorney Kevin Shannon stated, as per the Associated Press (AP). 

Musk's lawyer accuses Twitter's attorneys of misrepresenting court regulations

Meanwhile, Musk lawyer Edward Micheletti claimed that Twitter's attorneys were erroneously interpreting the court regulations. He added that there is nothing confidential in Musk's filing that cannot be disclosed in the public domain. "Twitter should not be permitted to continue burying the side of the story it does not want publicly disclosed," Micheletti argued. Earlier in April, Musk agreed to acquire the microblogging site and take it private. He also offered $54.20 per share and promised to relax the company's content policing regulations and eliminate bogus accounts.

What is Musk-Twitter saga?

It is pertinent to mention here that Musk first offered a staggering $44 billion to acquire Twitter, but eventually backed out of the deal owing to the vast amount of fake accounts on the social media site. In June this year, Twitter reportedly agreed to share its full information on spam or "fake accounts". However, the world's richest person decided to walk away from the deal which prompted the microblogging site to file a lawsuit against Musk. However, the Tesla chief also filed a countersuit against Twitter, thus escalating a legal battle over his decision to walk away from the massive deal. 

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP/Shutterstock