The much-awaited deposition of Elon Musk in the Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) lawsuit has been delayed, according to several reports, citing sources.
What Happened: Musk will now be deposed on an unspecified future date, according to a Bloomberg report. The original schedule was for a two-day deposition starting on Monday, with the possibility of it extending to Wednesday, according to court filings.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s questioning by Musk’s lawyers, which was supposed to take place on Monday, has also been postponed, according to a report. Agrawal canceled the deposition that was set to be held for 10 hours in San Francisco at a short notice, citing personal reasons, Business Insider reported.
The report also said when Musk’s in-person deposition is said to be rescheduled, it won’t likely happen in Delaware, where it was initially planned.
The cancellation of the two depositions set tongues wagging about a potential out-of-the-court settlement between the two parties.
Why It Matters: Musk is known for his scathing attacks on opposing attorneys and heaping insults on them when he was questioned under oath in the past, Reuters reported. He had previously called opposing lawyers “reprehensible."
The billionaire entrepreneur even asked one attorney, whose client was allegedly behind on child support payments, “So probably you’re on a contingency or you’re taking the kid’s money. Which is it?”
To keep Musk focused on answering questions could be challenging and akin to “trying to hold a tiger by his tail,” James Morsch, a corporate litigator said, according to the Reuters report.
The report also cited a 2019 deposition by Musk in the litigation over Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) SolarCity takeover, wherein he refused five times to answer a question because of the way it was worded.
Twitter is striving to establish that Musk wriggled out of the $44-billion deal to take the social media platform private due to the deteriorating market conditions and not because of the bot account issue he has been crying foul over.
A five-day trial on the lawsuit is set to begin in the Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.
Price Action: Twitter closed Monday’s session down 0.14% at $41.52, according to Benzinga Pro data.
