According to The New York Times, Elon Musk is charging Twitter with fraud for concealing the actual number of bots utilizing present in its network.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured as he attends the start of the production at Tesla's "Gigafactory" on March 22, 2022 in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin. - US electric car pioneer Tesla received the go-ahead for its "gigafactory" in Germany on March 4, 2022, paving the way for production to begin shortly after an approval process dogged by delays and setbacks.
"Closing The Gates on Information"
The Tesla CEO's team claimed in a legal document in the most recent chapter of the Twitter vs. Musk dispute that 10% of the bird app's daily active users are fake accounts.
It is worth reminding that back in July, Musk postponed his intended acquisition of the social network to see if Twitter's long-standing claim that bots make up less than 5% of its user base was true.
Musk's team stated in this latest filing that its analysts discovered a significantly higher number of fraudulent accounts than Twitter claimed in its Botometer report.
The social network concealed its bot problem to persuade Musk to accept the offer to purchase the business "at an inflated price," according to Musk's lawyers.
The billionaire's team further stated:
"Twitter was miscounting the number of false and spam accounts on its platform, as part of its scheme to mislead investors about the company's prospects. Twitter's disclosures have slowly unraveled, with Twitter frantically closing the gates on information in a desperate bid to prevent the Musk parties from uncovering its fraud."
Read also: Twitter Subpoenas Tesla Documents on Musk-Twitter Lawsuit-But Why?
"Factually Inaccurate, Legally Insufficient, Commercially Irrelevant"
Twitter's team did not mince its response to Musk's claims, calling them "factually inaccurate, legally insufficient, and commercially irrelevant."
The social media company disputed Musk's counterarguments in a filing as he attempted to walk away from the agreement he signed in April to acquire the bird app.
This illustration photo taken May 13, 2022, displays Elon Musks Twitter account with a Twitter logo in the background in Los Angeles. - Elon Musk sent mixed messages Friday about his proposed Twitter acquisition, pressuring shares of the microblogging platform amid skepticism on whether the deal will close.
Twitter claimed that the Botometer is not reliable and that it once assigned the billionaire's personal Twitter account a score suggesting that it is very "likely to be a bot."
Twitter has previously confirmed that the trial will begin on Oct. 17 and last for five days. Judge Kathaleen McCormick has confirmed that the official timetable would continue through Oct. 21.
The two parties had not previously agreed on a schedule. Musk's attorneys requested that the trial start the next year, 2023. Twitter said they might try to schedule the September meeting at the Delaware Court of Chancery.
But as of now, the confirmed data is on Oct. 17.
Related Article: Twitter Claims Elon Musk's Buyout Deal Caused Second Quarter Earnings Dip Due to 'Uncertainty'
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
