Following a US$9.12, or -18.75% drop in the value of Twitter stock in the last one month due to the ongoing fallout between the company and Elon Musk over the number of spambot accounts on the social media platform, the company’s investors have dragged Elon Musk to court over the way he is handling the suspended $44 billion deal.
In the lawsuit filed in California and obtained by the media, Twitter investors accused Musk of wrongful conduct via a series of false statements and market manipulation strategies. This, they claimed has created chaos in the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, California.
The aggrieved investors accused Elon Musk of violating “California corporate laws in several ways.”
Frank Bottini, one of the lawyers representing Twitter investors, told reporters that the lawsuit was filed because Mr. Musk “continues to disparage the company he wants to buy for $44 billion to renegotiate the purchase price”.
“The complaint we filed in San Francisco seeks to hold Musk liable for his unlawful conduct,” Mr. Bottini stated.
Referring to Musk’s May 13, 2022 tweet, the lawsuit claimed Elon’s message “constituted an effort to manipulate the market for Twitter shares as he knew about the fake accounts.”
Recall that Investors King reported that the Tesla boss had put the Twitter takeover on hold due to a high number of fake or spam accounts on the platform. While Musk had said he would reduce fake or spambot accounts on the platform, analysts had pointed to a carefully mapped out plan to force renegotiation at a much lower price.
“Musk spotted a hole in Twitter operations after he had already agreed to a $44 billion deal with the company’s management, you can’t blame the billionaire for trying to exploit that financially,” said Samed Olukoya, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Investors King Ltd.
“Here is it. Twitter will either accept renegotiation or address Elon Musk’s concerns and subsequently reposition the platform for growth.”
