Elon Musk could still face court despite new offer to buy Twitter

Elon Musk may still have to go to court with Twitter, even though he has put in a new offer to buy the social media company.

Mr Musk made his first offer in April to buy Twitter for $44bn, before attempting to pull out of the deal. This was apparently due to concern over the number of bots on the platform, although Twitter maintains that its reports about the number of authentic monthly daily active users - which is different to the number of active accounts on Twitter - remains accurate.

After Mr Musk’s messages were revealed through court documents earlier this month, the billionaire then made another offer of $54.20 per share.

However, sources sources familiar with the litigation told Reuters on Wednesday that the court case could continue. “Keep an eye on the docket,” said one source.

Twitter’s legal team and lawyers for Mr Musk updated the judge who is overseeing the litigation on Tuesday to try to overcome mutual distrust and find a process for closing the deal.

This development does not appear unusual - despite the messy series of events that led to it. Mr Musk had made an offer to buy Twitter before, and the social media company is unlikely to let him walk away from his second offer without the ink drying on contracts.

Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia University, told The Verge that Mr Musk was likely facing “a very unpleasant deposition” that could potentially dredge up “extremely inconsistent statements” made throughout this debachle.

It is also unlikely that Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who is overseeing the case, would reschedule proceedings based on a letter from an entrepreneur who has routinely misled companies and governments before. Ms McCormick has also been criticial of Mr Musk’s requests for data from Twitter, calling them “absurdly broad”, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Moreover, Mr Musk routinely insulted the company he was attempting to purchase - and then avoid purchasing - which has also left employee morale low, and it is unclear whether the Twitter that Mr Musk put in the offer for remains the same when he joins.