Twitter says Elon Musk making up excuses to breach $44 billion deal

Twitter says Elon Musk making up excuses to breach $44 billion deal

Twitter on Thursday said the notion Elon Musk was “hoodwinked” into inking a $44 billion buyout deal defies reason and the facts.

In a filing, Twitter rejected counter claims made by Musk as he fights to walk away from the deal he inked in April to buy the San Francisco-based company.

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“According to Musk, he - the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers - was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement,” Twitter said.

“That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds.”

Musk last week filed a countersuit along with a legal defense against Twitter's claim that the billionaire is contractually bound to complete the takeover deal.

“The counterclaims are a made-for-litigation tale that is contradicted by the evidence and common sense,” Twitter argued in the filing.

A five-day trial that will consider Twitter's lawsuit against Musk has been scheduled for October 17.

The Tesla boss wooed Twitter's board with a $54.20 per-share offer, but then in July announced he was ending their agreement because the firm had misled him regarding its tally of fake and spam accounts.

Twitter, whose stock