Business

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover saga: a timeline of tweets

Mamardi

March 14 2022

Unbeknown to the company, Elon Musk quietly acquires a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter

March 25

Musk posts a Twitter poll regarding free speech on the platform

April 4

In a filing to the US financial regulator, Musk is revealed as Twitter’s largest shareholder

April 5

Within a day of disclosing his stake, Musk is offered — and accepts — a seat on Twitter’s board. Chief executive Parag Agrawal says he is “excited” at the appointment

April 11

Musk decides against joining Twitter’s board, in a move that fuelled speculation he would mount a hostile takeover. Agrawal says Twitter remains open to Musk’s “input”

April 14

Musk launches hostile bid for Twitter at $44bn valuation, says he is “not sure” it will succeed

April 15

Twitter launches “poison pill” defence to block Musk takeover

April 21

Musk unveils $46.5bn financing package to fund Twitter bid, placing him personally on the hook for $33.5bn, according to Financial Times analysis, unless he can secure additional outside backing

April 25

Twitter accepts Musk’s $44bn takeover offer. Co-founder and former chief executive Jack Dorsey publicly backs Musk’s bid, calling him the “singular solution” to the site’s problems

April 28

In its first quarterly earnings report since news of the Musk takeover bid, Twitter admits overstating audience figures for three years

April 29

Musk boosts his cash position ahead of Twitter deal by selling off $8.5bn in Tesla stock, saying no further sales were planned

May 5

Larry Ellison, Binance and Sequoia all chip in with financing for Musk’s bid. Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao tells the FT his company’s support is essentially a “blank cheque”

May 12

Twitter announces hiring freeze and executive departures, including its head of consumer Kayvon Beykpour

May 13

Musk claims Twitter deal “on hold” because of spam bots and calls on Agrawal to “prove” metrics on spam and bot accounts

June 16

Musk addresses Twitter staff in all-hands meeting, saying the company needs to “get healthy”

July 8

Musk formally announces his intention to back out of deal. Twitter board chair says the company is still committed to the agreement, setting up the prospect of a high-stakes court battle

July 12

Twitter sues Musk and the two parties head for a showdown in the Delaware Court of Chancery

July 19

Denying Musk’s request for a delay, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery grants Twitter a speedy trial. Explaining her decision, she says Twitter was suffering under a “cloud of uncertainty”

July 22

Twitter reports its second-quarter earnings, blaming Musk and ads slump for revenue that missed Wall Street expectations

July 27

After being instructed by the judge to work it out between themselves, the parties agree to an October 17 start date for the trial

July 29

Musk countersues Twitter over deal, with details of the challenge kept under seal

August 4

Twitter responds to Musk’s countersuit claims, calling them “implausible”

August 9

Musk sells another $7.5bn in Tesla stock, taking advantage of a recent rebound in its share price. He says the sale is necessary to cover the “hopefully unlikely” event that he needs additional funding should the Twitter deal be forced to go ahead

August 22

Musk subpoenas Dorsey for any communications relating to “the impact or effect of false or spam accounts on Twitter’s business and operations”

August 23

Former Twitter security boss Peiter “Mudge” Zatko turns whistleblower, alleging deception on bots and security, boosting Musk’s case

August 24

Influential US Senate Judiciary Committee announces Zatko will testify on September 13 to discuss potential “security” failures at Twitter

August 25

Delaware judge rules Twitter must hand over more data to Musk for the purpose of analysing the authenticity of accounts, but falls short of granting full demand for huge trove of historical data

SEPTEMBER 6

Texts shown in court reveal Musk discussed with bankers the prospect of delaying Twitter deal over “world war three” concerns

September 7

Delaware judge grants Musk’s request to revise his countersuit against Twitter to include the recent whistleblower revelations

September 13

Whistleblower tells Senate hearing that Twitter put “profits over security”, claiming the company’s systems were more than a decade behind industry standards

September 27

During a pre-trial hearing, Twitter claims the researchers hired by Musk were unable to back up the entrepreneur’s claim that the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform were “wildly higher” than the company had disclosed to investors

September 29

Hundreds of private texts sent and received by Musk reveal a roll-call of tech figures offering to help him complete the deal. Podcaster Joe Rogan asked Musk if he intended to “liberate Twitter from the censorship happy mob?”.

The messages, disclosed in a court filing, also appear to show the apparent breakdown in relations between Musk and Agrawal.

“This is a waste of time,” Musk wrote in a message to the Twitter chief executive in the days leading up to the hostile takeover bid

October 4

In a stunning about-face, Musk sends a letter to Twitter saying the original $44bn deal is still on — provided he can still drum up the necessary financing and on the condition the litigation is halted. He says ownership of Twitter will form the basis of his vision for a new “everything app”

October 5

As the two sides seek to hash out a way to finally close the deal, Twitter agrees to postpone a Musk deposition that had been scheduled for October 6

october 6

Judge puts legal action on hold, giving Musk and Twitter until the end of October to close the deal



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