Elon Musk faces deposition ahead of Twitter trial

Tesla chief Elon Musk is set to answer Twitter’s questions under oath in a deposition scheduled for the next few days.

The deposition comes ahead of an October trial that will determine if the multibillionaire must carry through with his bid to buy the social media company for $44bn.

It has been planned for Monday and Tuesday, 26-27 September, and may extend to 28 September if necessary, Reuters reported, citing a filing at the Delaware Court of Chancery.

This comes ahead of the trial between the world’s richest man and Twitter that will take place between 17 and 21 October.

Since July, Mr Musk and Twitter have been engaged in a legal battle after the Tesla chief said he would pull out of the deal to buy the social media company for $44bn.

The multibillionaire had cited Twitter’s bot “problem” as the reason for not going through with the deal.

“I hereby challenge [Twitter chief Parag Agrawal] to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage. Let him prove to the public that Twitter has <5% fake or spam daily users!” the Tesla chief had said.

This was also in line with what Twitter’s former security head and whistleblower Pieter Zatko had told US regulatory agencies.

The former security head had flagged some of the platform’s privacy issues and data security threats, and also that the company does not know how many bots are on its platform.

However, Twitter’s lawyers accuse the Tesla chief of using Mr Zatko’s claims as cover for “failing to do customary due diligence” to buy the company without proper risk assessment.

Alleging that Mr Zatko’s statements are “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies”, Twitter said the former security head’s claims are opportunistic, and “appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be.”

Mr Musk’s deposition on Monday may reveal if the Tesla chief has any new information on Twitter that he likely has used to make his decision about the deal with the company.

However, the deposition will not be public, and it is also unclear if the Tesla titan will appear in person or by video.