According to a court filing made by Twitter in Delaware before Judge Kathaleen McCormick, Elon Musk — the public menace and billionaire who has sought in fits and starts to purchase the social media company — is or at least has been under federal investigation in relation to his conduct surrounding the proposed deal.
Musk’s proposed purchase of Twitter relies on financing from outside sources, suggesting whoever is providing or may provide Musk with financial support could later find themselves with unspoken leverage over the direction of company policy at Twitter. As a widely used social media platform where even world leaders are involved, such a set-up could have political implications. Removing a figure from the platform — or letting them rejoin it — would restrict or allow access to millions of people. On Truth Social, Trump’s personal follower count remains vastly below where it was on Twitter (although in his unique case, he obviously remains generally in the public spotlight — even if his individual rants get less traction). Twitter said in its court filing that Musk’s side claimed investigative privilege over documents the company sought amid a lawsuit it brought to try and compel Musk to go through with purchasing the company.
Musk has since indicated renewed interest in completing the deal. At the helm of Twitter, Musk could — in theory — exert close control over the accounts and trends that have driven public mockery of him throughout recent months and years. McCormick set a deadline of October 28 for completing the deal. If the deadline isn’t met, a trial date for Twitter’s face-off with Musk will be set. Before temporarily abandoning interest in the purchase, Musk already sent Twitter essentially through the metaphorical wringer. Even the company stock price made significant moves as negotiations unfolded.
In court, Twitter didn’t specify the precise nature of the federal investigation into Musk it referenced, but the company was hoping for McCormick to compel Musk to provide documents included on a privilege log previously presented by the billionaire’s legal team. The filing was dated with the same day McCormick paused proceedings after Musk revealed his renewed interest in moving forward, so there’s no immediate resolution to Twitter’s request for documents. Musk is known to have previously faced scrutiny from authorities including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission over issues including his late disclosure of a large stake in Twitter.
