Timeline of tweets: twists and turns of Musk’s Twitter deal
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
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
April 4
In a filing to the US financial regulator, Musk is revealed as Twitter’s largest shareholder
Oh hi lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2022
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
I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.
Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes
— jack (@jack) April 5, 2022
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”
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
Most of these “top” accounts tweet rarely and post very little content.
Is Twitter dying? https://t.co/lj9rRXfDHE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2022
April 14
Musk launches hostile bid for Twitter at $44bn valuation, says he is “not sure” it will succeed
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
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
If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2022
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
🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.
— jack (@jack) April 26, 2022
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
No further TSLA sales planned after today
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2022
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”
If Twitter acquisition completes, company will be super focused on hardcore software engineering, design, infosec & server hardware https://t.co/m2HseK0TXl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2022
May 12
Twitter announces hiring freeze and executive departures, including its head of consumer Kayvon Beykpour
The truth is that this isn’t how and when I imagined leaving Twitter, and this wasn’t my decision. Parag asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction.
— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) May 12, 2022
May 13
Musk claims Twitter deal “on hold” because of spam bots and calls on Agrawal to “prove” metrics on spam and bot accounts
Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022
20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.
My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.
Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.
This deal cannot move forward until he does.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2022
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
The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) July 8, 2022
July 12
Twitter sues Musk and the two parties head for a showdown in the Delaware Court of Chancery
Twitter has filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery to hold Elon Musk accountable to his contractual obligations.
— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) July 12, 2022
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
Yes.
In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close *and* some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2022
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
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2022
August 24
Influential US Senate Judiciary Committee announces Zatko will testify on September 13 to discuss potential “security” failures at Twitter
Mr. Zatko’s allegations of widespread security failures and foreign state actor interference at Twitter raise serious concerns. If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world. https://t.co/NflAs0ik0e
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) August 24, 2022
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
“Many of us are comfortable with some of the programs on our phones having location data… but when that data isn’t secure, we become vulnerable to bad actors.”
WATCH Chair @SenatorDurbin open the first Congressional hearing on the Twitter whistleblower allegations: pic.twitter.com/AWr93OQHrM
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) September 13, 2022
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”
Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2022
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