Musk seeks to avert trial while Twitter buyout negotiations continue

Elon Musk has asked a Delaware court to stay a planned October trial with Twitter, saying it would be a distraction and an “enormous waste” of resources since he’s moving forward with his $44 billion offer to buy the platform.

“Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” according to a Thursday filing from Musk’s attorneys to the Delaware Court of Chancery. On Oct. 3, Musk reiterated his commitment to buy the company, after months of trying to get out of the deal.

A Twitter spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they’d support a stay in the trial.

Trial to put deal in ‘limbo’: Twitter sued to force the deal to go through, but Musk’s team argued on Thursday that a trial would do more harm than good. “In effect, a trial would keep the merger transaction in limbo for longer, casting an unnecessary cloud of uncertainty over the company,” the filing said.

"Astonishingly, they have insisted on proceeding with this litigation, recklessly putting the deal at risk and gambling with their stockholders’ interests,” the filing said.

Musk’s attorneys said they’re working on getting debt financing to be able to close on or around Oct. 28.

A five-day trial over Twitter’s lawsuit is set to begin Oct. 17. In the filing, Musk’s attorneys said that since Musk has returned to the negotiations — it has “effectively mooted” the need for a trial.

Washington is watching: Meanwhile, Washington is watching to see if Musk’s takeover finally goes through because it could have huge implications for the future of political elites’ favorite social media app — especially if former President Donald Trump returns and if rules are lifted to prevent the spread of hate speech and misinformation.