According to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk received a reprieve from Twitter lawyers Monday. In his high-stakes court maneuver, the billionaire had been scheduled to give a deposition on whether he must follow through with his agreement to purchase the social platform for $44 billion (approximate Rs. 3,37,465 crore).
Instead, Musk''s questioning was postponed to a future date. According to a person who was briefed on the matter, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who was also scheduled to meet Musk lawyers on Monday.
Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal have all reported the move to Musk, all of which all related information to anonymous sources.
News of the postponements fueled a brief increase in Twitter shares, which jumped 5.4 percent to $43.03 (roughly Rs. 3,500) on hopes of a settlement in the case. That concern waned later in the day. Twitter shares closed Monday at $41.58 (roughly Rs. 3,300), eight cents higher than they did on Monday.
These cancellations are not unusual ahead of major pretrial hearings, according to court watchers. A hearing on several significant pretrial motions is scheduled for Tuesday.
The two men were expected to answer opposing lawyers ahead of a trial in October that will determine who is at fault for Musk''s Twitter bid, not to mention who paid for the transaction. The trial will begin October 17 in the Delaware Chancery Court, where it is scheduled to last five days.
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Musk, the world''s richest man, agreed in April to buy Twitter and sell it privately, offering $54.20 (roughly Rs. 4,180) a share, promising to loosen the company''s content reporting, and to delete fraudulent accounts. In July, he attempted to back out of the deal, dismissing a number of charges at Twitter as an excuse for his actions.
Twitter subsequently sued Musk to force him to complete the acquisition.