Elon Musk, Twitter in fresh squabble over October trial timing

Elon Musk’s lawyers asked a Delaware judge on Tuesday to schedule an October trial a week later than Twitter has requested in the legal fight over his decision to back out of a $44 billion takeover agreement.

Musk’s legal team asked the Delaware Chancery Court chief judge Kathaleen McCormick to schedule the five-day trial beginning on Oct. 17 – a week-long delay on Twitter’s proposed date of Oct. 10.

Musk’s attorney asked the judge “break the impasse to allow things to move forward promptly” in regard to the legal proceedings, according to the court filing reviewed by Reuters.

The latest request came after McCormick sided with Twitter in approving an expedited trial despite Musk’s objections. The judge dictated the five-day trial would begin in October and directed the two sides to reach terms on an exact schedule.

Twitter declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The Post also has reached out for comment.

Musk’s legal team also accused Twitter of withholding key information. They asked the judge to submit “core documents” relevant to the case within 18 days and raw data related to its platform by Aug. 1, according to Reuters.

Musk cited concerns about the number of spam bots within Twitter’s user base in a filing declaring his intention to back out of the $44 billion deal after months of back-and-forth talks. Meanwhile, Twitter is seeking to force the billionaire to honor the original agreement by court order.

McCormick’s involvement in the case has drawn scrutiny given her record as one of the few judges who has ordered a reluctant company to close a deal they attempted to exit. She is also overseeing a separate lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court regarding Musk’s $56 billion pay package at Tesla.

Twitter had previously accused Musk’s team of pursuing a “tactical delay” in the legal proceedings that could further hurt the company’s reputation in the interim.

Musk’s lawyers made a failed effort to push back the trial to next February, arguing the extra time was necessary to conduct a review of Twitter’s fake accounts.