Twitter to oust Tesla CEO Elon Musk, known for ‘messy’ Testimony, ahead of upcoming legal battle

Billionaire Elon Musk’s propensity to hurl insults during sworn interrogation will be tested again this week, when Twitter’s lawyers are expected to interview the Tesla CEO about the abrupt decision in July. to give up his $44 billion (about 3,37,465 crore) transactions to the social media company.

Testifying in past legal battles, the world’s richest man has called opposing lawyers “reproachable”, questioned their happiness and accused them of “blackmail”. He asked a lawyer if he was working on a contingency because the lawyer’s client was allegedly behind in paying child support.

“So maybe you’re in an unexpected situation or you’re taking that kid’s money. Is that it?” Musk asked a lawyer for a whistleblower in a case against Teslaaccording to a transcript of the deposition 2020.

High stakes Twitter Interviews are closed to the public. A court filing last week said Musk’s removal is expected to begin Monday and run through Wednesday, if necessary. Sources familiar with the matter said Musk was not questioned on Monday, and they did not know when it would begin nor gave a reason for the delay.

Musk’s attorneys will want to keep him focused on answering questions, but that could be a challenge with such an intelligent and steadfast witness, said James Morsch, a corporate litigator not participate in the battle in court, said.

“I would compare it to trying to hold a tiger by its tail,” Morsch said.

During the 2019 lawsuit over Tesla’s takeover of solar panel maker SolarCity, Musk declined to answer one of the original questions five times because of wording, the recording shows.

“We can just stare at each other until you say it again,” Musk told opposing attorney Randall Baron, according to a transcript.

“I guess we’ll cancel this deposition,” Baron replied. Baron hinted that he would seek an order from the judge instructing Musk to answer the questions, which would seem to make things progress.

Twitter declined to comment, and Musk’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Twitter’s lawyers are expected to use the interview to try to prove that Musk walked away from the deal because of the financial market slump, not because the company misled him about the actual number of users or concealed security flaws, as he alleged.

Musk wants the judge to let him go without penalty, while Twitter wants an order forcing him to buy the company for $54.20 (about Rs 4,180) per share. Shares of Twitter were up 0.4% at $41.58 (about Rs 3,300) on Friday.

A five-day trial is scheduled to begin October 17 in Wilmington, Delaware.

Dozens of deposits are planned in the case, including to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, as each side questions witnesses and gathers evidence to bring the case to life.

Agrawal was scheduled to answer questions from Musk’s attorneys at a San Francisco law firm starting at 9 a.m. (9:30 p.m. IST) local time on Monday, according to the filing. court filings, although sources said the removal was also postponed and did not give a reason. .

Twitter co-founder and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was scheduled to be ousted last week.

What is the whole truth?

At times, Musk has shown off the charm and wit he exudes on Twitter, where he’s built a cult following.

The atmosphere of Twitter deposition can be especially stressful. Its legal team includes the firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and the lead attorney for the case, Bill Savitt, who initially represented Musk and Tesla in the SolarCity deal, though not in development. present and file a lawsuit.

Savitt did not respond to a request for comment.

Twitter is also represented by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

A constant in the three submissions reviewed by Reuters was Musk’s dislike of lawyers representing the opposition, whom he accused of “fraud” and pursuing him solely for the money.

“Yesterday I heard that 3% of the US economy is legal services. That’s one of the saddest truths I’ve heard in a long time,” Musk told Baron, the agency’s attorney. SolarCity management agency.

The litigation with Tesla accuser Martin Tripp, who has accused the company of wasting raw materials, began with Musk being asked if he understood the oath he made to testify truthfully.

“This sounds like some sort of legal, semantic argument. – What is the whole truth of something?” Musk asked, according to the transcript. “You say, ‘That’s a tree? What kind of tree is it? Is it a tree with many leaves?’ Or – if you’re saying something is a tree is the whole truth? No, of course not.”

Tripp’s attorney reminded Musk that the judge warned him to directly oversee the deposition if questions were not answered correctly.

“Are you going to follow the judge’s advice there?” asked attorney William Fishbach.

“Of course,” Musk said.

© Thomson Reuters 2022