(NewsNation) — The social media saga between Elon Musk and Twitter continues as the first court hearing in the trial involving the two is scheduled for Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Earlier this month, Musk attempted to terminate his $44 billion takeover deal reached in April. Twitter, in turn, sued Musk in Delaware’s Court of Chancery in an effort to force him to complete the deal.
On Monday, Twitter accused the Tesla CEO of trying to “slow walk” the company’s lawsuit to hold him to his $44 billion takeover and urged a September trial to ensure deal financing remains in place, according to a court filing.
Musk, the world’s richest man, pledged to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter but now wants to back out of the agreement. He claims the company has failed to provide adequate information about the number of fake, or “spam bot,” Twitter accounts, and that it has breached its obligations under the deal by firing top managers and laying off a significant number of employees.
Twitter argues that Musk, CEO of electric car maker and solar energy company Tesla Inc., has operated in bad faith and is deliberately trying to tank the deal because market conditions have deteriorated and the acquisition no longer serves his interests. According to the lawsuit, the value of Musk’s shares in Tesla, which he was to draw upon to help finance the acquisition, has declined by more than $100 billion since November.
Either Musk or Twitter would be entitled to a $1 billion breakup fee if the other party is found responsible for the agreement failing. Twitter wants more, however, and is seeking a court order directing Musk to follow through with the deal.
Twitter lawyers are asking the court to expedite the case. They have proposed a four-day trial starting Sept. 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.