[Epoch Times, September 28, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Li Xin comprehensive report) A lawyer for Twitter told a judge on Tuesday (September 27) that a data scientist hired by Elon Musk (Elon Musk) The results of a review of the Twitter platform could not support the billionaire’s allegations because the number of fake users they found was far lower than Musk’s estimates.
A day before Musk sent his first letter to Twitter executives in July notifying him that he would terminate the $44 billion acquisition, two of the companies he hired had analyzed the company’s lawyers, Twitter’s lawyers said at Tuesday’s hearing. Extensive data on Twitter users and reports their own estimates of the number of bot accounts on the Twitter platform. Cyabra told Musk it estimated that Twitter could be 11% bots or fake accounts; CounterAction said its analysis showed 5.3% bots.
That’s far below Musk’s estimates. He tweeted in May that fake or spam accounts on the platform could be “well” above 20%.
Twitter has filed a lawsuit to force Musk to complete the takeover, and the case will begin a five-day trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Oct. 17, despite speculation that the two sides may An out-of-court settlement was reached.
A Twitter attorney said the findings of the two companies Musk had selected did not support the claims it made in its July 8 notice to terminate the deal.
Twitter’s lawyers also accused Musk’s legal team of deliberately withholding data in the legal battle, saying they had sought the documents early in the lawsuit but were only able to access them until Tuesday.
Still, 11 percent is clearly far higher than Twitter’s own estimate of less than 5 percent.
Musk also wrote to Twitter again on Aug. 29 to inform Twitter that he intends to cancel the social media acquisition, citing recent allegations made by a whistleblower.
On July 6, Twitter’s former security chief, Peiter Zatko, submitted a whistleblower report to the U.S. Congress, accusing Twitter of “far-reaching misconduct.”
Musk said the misconduct could have serious consequences for the company’s business.
“The Twitter platform is largely based on the misappropriation and infringement of third-party intellectual property,” Musk accused in the letter.
The legal battle between Musk and Twitter is currently raging, and Twitter is seeking an order requiring Musk to complete the deal at $54.20 per share. Twitter shares closed Tuesday at $42.09, up 1.4%.
A court notice on Tuesday said Musk’s testimony was scheduled from this week to Oct. 6-7. His testimony is expected to be a key part of the proceedings.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei#