Elon Musk subpoenas former face of Twitter and calls for case dismissal
Austin, Texas - The latest move in Elon Musk's ongoing legal battle over his bid to buy Twitter involves the CEO both serving up a subpoena to the social media company's former CEO Jack Dorsey and asking for a dissmissal in court.
The Tesla CEO's latest effort to terminate his Twitter buyout bid scot-free has many Musk critics murmuring, "Of course he did."
On Monday, news broke that Musk had not only subpoenaed Dorsey, but also that he had reportedly asked a judge to dismiss Twitter's lawsuit against him over his last-minute attempt to walk away from his proposed $44 billion bid to buy the company.
In July, Musk attempted to pull out of his buyout bid, leading Twitter to file a lawsuit in an attempt to force the SpaceX founder to follow through with the deal or face severe penalties.
The billionaire cited growing concerns over Twitter's alleged "false and misleading representation" of "the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter’s platform," and it seems Musk is now looking for legal ammo in the form of Dorsey's communicative paper trails.
The subpoena, which was obtained by The Verge, indicates that Musk is seeking several documents from Dorsey. The request included documents or communications "reflecting, referring to, or relating to the impact or effect of false spam accounts on Twitter's business operations," or any communication about the platform's analytics and metrics, "including, but not limited to, daily active users, monthly active users, daily user engagement, monthly user engagement, or advertisement engagement."
Dorsey stepped down as CEO of Twitter for the second time in November 2021 and has been outwardly supportive of Musk's attempted takeover.
Jack Dorsey supported Elon Musk's Twitter takeover
In April, Dorsey tweeted, "Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is 'maximally trusted and broadly inclusive' is the right one," later adding that "this is the right path...I believe it with all my heart."
He stepped down from Twitter's board of directors in May, just days after Musk announced he was putting the deal "on hold."
Dorsey's attorneys have 14 days upon receipt of the subpoena to respond.
The October 17 trial date between Musk and Twitter still stands for the time being.
Cover photo: Collage: Marco BELLO / AFP / Dimitrios Kambouris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP