Gary Zhou 
Twitter has issued a response to Elon Musk’s recent 13D filing, which outlined several key reasons why the CEO is terminating his acquisition attempt of the social media company. According to Twitter lawyer William Savitt, Musk’s newest pronouncement was “invalid and wrongful.”
Musk’s 13D filing featured a letter from the Tesla CEO which noted that the additional reasons for his efforts to terminate his Twitter buyout deal are “distinct from those bases set forth in the Reporting Person’s July 8, 2022 letter to Twitter terminating their Merger Agreement on that date.”
Musk highlighted the claims brought forward by former Twitter security chief and whistleblower Pieter Zatko, who noted that the social media company’s leadership had been neglectful when dealing with the platform’s spam and fake accounts. Musk’s legal team noted that the whistleblower complaint “alleges far-reaching misconduct at Twitter — all of which was disclosed to Twitter’s directors and senior executives, including [CEO] Parag Agrawal.”
Twitter’s lawyer, however, argued that Musk’s claims are based solely on “statements made by a third party that, as Twitter has previously stated, are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack important context. Contrary to the assertions in your letter, Twitter has breached none of its representations or obligations under the agreement.”
Savitt added that the social media company still “intends to enforce the agreement and close the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with the Musk parties.”
Elon Musk and Twitter’s Board of Directors have previously agreed on an acquisition deal at $54.20 per share, or about $44 billion. This was before Elon Musk took issue with Twitter’s estimates to the SEC, however, which claimed that less than 5% of its users are fake or spam accounts. Musk has previously noted that he is open to renegotiating his Twitter buyout deal at an adjusted price.
