Update: Musk’s deposition has been rescheduled to be held on October 6-7, just over a week before the trial commences in a Delaware court.
Original article: The saga of billionaire Elon Musk and micro-blogging site Twitter has spanned since April 2022, and not only has it been a dramatic one, but it also does not show any signs of ending anytime soon. This dramatism continues ahead of the highly-anticipated trial next month between the two parties, and as part of the lawsuit, Musk is set to be questioned under oath this week.
The testifying of the Tesla and SpaceX boss in a Delaware court was slated to begin on Monday, September 26, according to Musk’s deposition notice dated September 19. However, there appeared the latest of the twists and turns that have characterized the Musk-Twitter saga as the eccentric billionaire did not sit for the depositions on Monday, despite the earlier scheduling notice.
According to Alex Spiro, Musk’s layer, the billionaire was not actually scheduled to be questioned on that date – instead, he is expected to be deposed later this week. According to sources familiar with the matter, the dates listed in deposition notices filed with the court do not always match up with the dates that the two sides agree to officially begin the questioning.
This explains why Parag Agarwal, who took over the post CEO of Twitter in November 2021, did not sit for depositions on Monday even though he was scheduled to do so. A person familiar with the matter said that Musk’s team learned of Agarwal’s rescheduling on Sunday. It is not clear when the deposition of Agarwal will take place.
It remains to be seen whether Musk maintains his track record of insulting the opposition’s lawyers in court as both parties gear up for the trial, which will be closed to the public. Past legal battles have seen the billionaire resort to insults and even, on occasions, refuse to answer a question because of the way it was worded.
According to James Morsch, a corporate litigator, it will be challenge for Musk’s lawyers to keep him focused on answering questions, something that is comparable to “trying to hold a tiger by his tail.”
It will be interesting to see whether Musk’s antics in insulting the opposition’s lawyers help him in his pursuit to win the lawsuit and walk away from the acquisition of Twitter. Proposed by Musk himself months ago, the billionaire had tried to walk away from the deal later on. A victory for Musk would see him walk away without suffering a penalty, while a loss is likely to see Musk walk down the aisle and acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share.
