Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is seeking documents from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO continues his legal battle to back out of his $44 billion deal for the social media company, according to a court filing.
Dorsey, who resigned as Twitter’s chief executive in November and left the board in May, was asked for documents and communications about Musk’s April deal to buy the company and spam accounts on the platform, according to a copy of the subpoena.
Dorsey, who is CEO of payments processor Block Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Block co-founded Dorsey and changed its name from Square Inc. last year.
Musk, the world’s richest person thanks to his stake in Tesla Inc, said on Twitter in July that he was ending a deal to buy the company for $54.20 a share because he claimed Twitter had breached the deal. Twitter and Musk have since sued each other, with Twitter asking a Delaware Court of Chancery judge to order Musk to enter into the deal. The five-day trial is set to begin on October 17.
The subpoena sought documents and communications about Twitter’s use of mDAU, a measure of active users on its platform. Musk claimed the company defrauded him by hiding the number of fake accounts in its regulatory filings, which Musk said he used to value the company.
Twitter denied Musk’s spam allegations.
Musk also wanted documents and communications regarding alternative active user measures the company was considering and information about the use of mDAU in executive compensation and annual targets.
Twitter declined to comment.
Dorsey backed Musk’s bid to buy Twitter because the two men agreed on the need for more transparency for its algorithm and giving users more control over the content they see.
Dorsey also tweeted that he believed Twitter was being held back by the advertising model, and Musk said Twitter should rely more on subscription fees and services such as money transfers between users.
Musk and Dorsey discussed Musk joining Twitter’s board in March before Musk revealed he had acquired a 9.1% stake in Twitter. Musk accepted a seat on the board, but before he began his term, he reversed course and offered to buy the company.
Shares of Twitter fell 2.5% to $42.89 in Monday trading.
