Elon Musk and Twitter are poised for another lawsuit as the billionaire launches a counterclaim against the social media giant, which sued him for canceling its $44 billion contract to acquire the platform.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his legal advisers allege in a recent filing that Twitter misled them about the social media giant’s “key stats” and manipulated its value in an attempt to get the billionaire to launch the company against a bump to buy price.
Musk offered to buy Twitter earlier this year, but changed his mind and attempted to pull out of the deal, claiming the social media network was plagued by a significantly higher number of “spam bots” and fake accounts than Twitter reported.
The filing alleges fraud, stating that Twitter’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission were “far from the truth” and contained “multiple, major misrepresentations or omissions that distort Twitter’s value.”
Elon Musk: Twitter uses bots and lies about the number of users
In its response, Twitter claimed that its SEC filings are correct and that the company “has made no misrepresentations,” according to The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Musk alleges that Twitter is lying about the number of active users and how many of them are bots, and that his allegations of fraud against the company are contributing to a so-called “detrimental effect” that should allow him to withdraw from the contract, it revealed. The Verge.
The idea that Musk was “duped” into signing the merger is “as unlikely and contradictory as it sounds,” according to Twitter, adding that Musk is allegedly creating justifications for getting out of the deal, according to reports.
As part of his lawsuit against Elon Musk, Twitter has sued cryptocurrency exchange Binance and more than a dozen of Musk’s advisers and potential lenders. Musk announced in May that he has secured investments from 18 companies, including Binance, to take over Twitter.
The ‘Dogefather’ and His Influence on the Crypto Community
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is a well-known Dogecoin enthusiast. In a recent appearance on the Full Send Podcast, the self-proclaimed “Dogefather” stated that Dogecoin’s blockchain had a significantly higher transaction capacity compared to Bitcoin.
Elon Musk’s influence on the cryptocurrency community has been scientifically proven. According to a study conducted by Dr. Lennart Ante for the Blockchain Research Lab, the “Musk Effect” is real.
Every time the billionaire comments on Dogecoin on Twitter, the price of this cryptocurrency tends to rise relatively quickly.
Twitter describes Musk’s reason for pulling out of the deal as “a story he made up to get out of a merger deal he no longer found appealing.”
The trial between Twitter and Elon Musk will begin on October 17.
DOGE total market cap at $9.11 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com Featured image from Nikkei Asia, chart from TradingView.com