Twitter seeks four-day trial in its case against Elon Musk

Social media company is trying to force Musk to conclude his $44 billion takeover, and seems confident in its position

Twitter is seeking a rapid resolution to its case against Elon Musk, who on Tuesday backed out of his planned $44 billion buyout of the company.

Under the terms of that deal, Musk is required to pay Twitter a $1 billion break fee for reneging, but the Tesla and Starlink CEO is contesting the issue, saying that Twitter failed to give him all the information he asked for concerning the number of spam accounts on the social network.

Twitter has hired US law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP in preparation for filing a lawsuit against Elon Musk in an effort to compel him to finalise his $44 billion purchase of the social media business.

The case will be heard in Delaware, a state known for its rapid turnaround of corporate legal cases, and despite the apparent complexity of the case, Twitter says it's confident the court will find in its favour. It is requesting that the judge, Kathaleen McCormick hold a four-day trial in September.

"Litigation on the schedule Twitter proposes permits the parties and their experienced counsel ample time to assemble a trial record," Twitter's lawyers said.

The same judge is also overseeing a case by brought by Tesla shareholders who are seeking to block Musk's $56 billion compensation package from the automaker. That case is due to be heard in October.

Both Twitter and Tesla are registered in Delaware.

"Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," Twitter said in a statement.

Twitter shares, which dropped on the news that Musk is pulling out, have since recovered to around $37 per share, just below their price before the announcement, but still well below the $54.20 at which the mogul's $44 billion offer valued the company.

In a sign of market confidence in Twitter's legal position, short-selling activist investment firm Hindenberg Research changed its position on the firm from short to long.

"We have accumulated a significant long position in shares of Twitter. Twitter's complaint poses a credible threat to Musk's empire," the company tweeted.

While there have already been some redundancies and hiring freezes at the social media firm pending Musk's takeover, Twitter is not considering company-wide lay-offs but said it would likely continue to restructure its business, according to Reuters.