Chapter 15

Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/twitter-elon-musk-timeline-what-happened-so-far-rcna57532

May - June 2022

On May 13, Musk tweets he is putting the deal to acquire Twitter "temporarily on hold" pending additional information about the volume of fake and spam accounts on the platform.

That's despite regular disclosures by Twitter stretching back years featuring its estimates that less than 5% of the accounts on the site were fraudulent. Although Musk subsequently says he is still committed to the deal,he continues to make public statements about problems he saw at Twitter.

In response, Twitter issues a statement saying Musk already agreed to the $54.20 transaction and that it intended to close on and enforce the merger agreement.

Musk continues toaccuse Twitter of covering up the volume of bot and spam accounts on the siteand failing to respond to requests for information about the issue.

"Mr.Musk has made it clear that he does not believe the company's lax testing methodologies are adequate so he must conduct his own analysis," Musk's attorney says in a filing. "The data he has requested is necessary to do so."

Twitter denies the claims and continues to forge ahead with the deal. On June 16,the company invites Musk to an all-hands meeting, which Musk attended remotely. It augurs the sea change in the company culture that would eventually sweep over the business once Musk finally takes it over.

Musk ultimately countersues, once again accusing Twitter of fraud allegations it denies. A trial date is set for Oct. 17 in Delaware.

Seemingly unrelated to the acquisition, a former Twitter employee files a whistleblower complaint alleging lax operational security practices at Twitter; the complaint is revealed in August.He testifies before a Senate committee in September that Twitter was "a decade behind industry security standards."

"It's not far-fetched to say that an employee in the company could take over the accounts of all of the senators in this room," he says.

In the meantime, Musk and Twitter jockey for position ahead of the October trial with Judge Kathaleen McCormick increasingly siding with Twitter in key pre-trial motions.

October

As the trial approaches and markets increasingly predict a verdict in favor of Twitter,Musk says he will resubmit his bid to acquire the company for $54.20 if Twitter agrees to head off a trial. Twitter declines to do so, but Judge McCormickdecides to give the two sides until the end of the month to hammer out an agreement.

As the deal nears, The Washington Post reports Musk intends to lay off massive numbers of employees after the acquisition is complete. ThoughTwitter's general counsel tells workers not to believe what it called "rumors,"those job cutscome swiftly after Musk's takeoverand total about half of Twitter's payroll. Musk also writes a note to advertiserspledging Twitter will not become a "free-for-all hellscape."

On Oct. 28,Musk officially consummates the acquisition, takes over Twitter and promptly fires key executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and policy director Vijaya Gadde.

Please apply to Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter, then relate to concepts that we have covered inChapter 15 this semesterto answer each of the questions below.

Your answer to each question should be at least a paragraph long. For purposes of this class, a paragraph can have no fewer than six (6) sentences. Answers that are shorter than four sentences will be automatically marked incorrect.

Chapter 15

Voidable Contracts

Capacity

Consent

Ratification

Fraud: Misrepresentation of Fact

Unilateral Mistake

Mutual Mistake

Duress

Undue Influence

1. Briefly, what is the story? What is the issue? What are the two sides of the issue and who supports each side? What are the most important facts/events someone needs to know from this article?

1. What concept from the course does this article illustrate? (Please include topic as well as the chapter it comes from). How does this story illustrate this concept?

1. What are the business implications of this issue/situation?

1. What do you believe is the proper resolution? Why?

1. What evidence would you need to see to change your mind and get you to support the other side?

1. Why is this source credible? (This question can be shorter than six sentences, three (3) minimum.)