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Twitter (TWTR) lead lawyer says 'Musk was never going to take yes for an answer'

The case against Musk includes statements that he was never going to take yes for an answer, and couldn't bring himself to claim that an MAE had occurred.

Morgan Shaver

July 19, 2022 12:42 PM

Image: Britta Pedersen/Getty Images

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On Twitter (TWTR), @chancery_daily has been live tweeting the heated Twitter vs Elon Musk hearing. Among the information tweeted out about the proceedings, one notable comment from Twitter’s lead representing lawyer, Bill Savitt from Wachtell, notes that this case is a “refusal to close” case and that Musk was “never going to take yes for an answer.”

@Twitter's lead lawyer is reviewing the background, as laid out in the Complaint and its motion briefing.

"In retrospect, it's clear that Musk was never going to take yes for an answer."

— The Chancery Daily (@chancery_daily) July 19, 2022

Following this, it was also commented that, “Musk couldn’t even bring himself to claim that an MAE had occurred.” An MAE, which stands for material adverse event, is essentially a change in circumstances that "significantly reduces the value of a company."

The dissection of Musk’s behavior doesn’t end there either, as Twitter reportedly argued that Musk has been “inflicting harm on Twitter every day” and there’s even a slide dedicated to “Musk drama” according to the tweets from @chancery_daily.

Continuing to make its case, Twitter’s lawyer pointed out that, “Musk is doing the exact opposite of ‘best efforts’ - he’s doing his best to get out of the contract, he’s doing his [worst]. It’s egregious, willful, breaching conduct. The daily harm it causes the company justifies an expedited schedule.”

Further down the tweet thread, there’s a remark about the counsels being in favor of the earliest possible trial date, and that orders of expedition are routine in circumstances like these. Previously, the judge presiding over the case in the Delaware Court of Chancery where Twitter filed its lawsuit had set October as the start date for the trial. With this, it'll be interesting to see if the date gets revised.

Twitter:
A consent right in the hands of a committed enemy becomes a weapon. That is how Musk is using it.

That counsels further in favor of the earliest possible trial date.

— The Chancery Daily (@chancery_daily) July 19, 2022

Musk is being represented by Andy Rossman of Quinn Emanuel, with Musk’s representatives commenting things such as Twitter anticipating that the timing “could extend all the way to February 2023” and that this is the only true drop-dead date. With this, Musk’s representatives are “seeking to try a case that would take 3-4 years in 6-7 months.” Musk’s lawyers also cite one of Musk’s talking points regarding bots on Twitter.

Musk:

The issue here that we have to get to the bottom of is: what is the real number of false users on Twitter's platform. Twitter says there's no representation about that in the contract, and there is, right here in the 10-K [sic].

— The Chancery Daily (@chancery_daily) July 19, 2022

The thread reporting on the case goes on quite a bit longer, with numerous tweets sharing details delivered from both Twitter’s representation and Musk’s. To dig deeper into more of this spicy back-and-forth court reporting, we recommend looking through the full thread from @chancery_daily.

Outside of that, we’re also curious what your thoughts are on some of the statements being made? Let us know in Chatty! For more on what else Elon Musk has been up to, also be sure to check out our previous coverage of an October date being set for the Twitter lawsuit with Elon Musk.

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.