London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 25, 2025

Elon Musk's Twitter deal - what's going on, how did we get here and what happens next?

Elon Musk's Twitter deal - what's going on, how did we get here and what happens next?

By 28 October, next Friday, Elon Musk will either own Twitter or be going to trial to attempt to force him to buy a company that he willingly made an offer for.

Elon Musk's prospective Twitter takeover has become a saga befitting of a football transfer window, with months of back-and-forth drama inevitably destined to form the basis of a tell-all book.

Now finally, half a year since the world's richest man offered to buy the social media company, Mr Musk appears close to going through with the deal.

By 28 October, next Friday, he will either close his takeover or be going to trial in a bid to force him to.

How on earth did we get here?


It started back in April, a whirlwind month that began with the self-confessed Twitter addict getting a seat on the board after becoming the firm's single biggest shareholder.

Shares in the platform surged after it was revealed he had bought a 9.2% stake worth almost $3bn, and he wasted little time in making suggestions - including an edit button and changes to the Twitter Blue subscription service.

Within a fortnight, Mr Musk had offered to buy Twitter outright, saying it was needed to uphold free speech.

"Since making my investment, I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form," he said in a letter to Bret Taylor, the Twitter chairman.

"Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."

An agreement was quickly reached, and Musk appeared serious, seemingly moving to finance the deal by selling millions of Tesla shares.

But by the middle of May, Mr Musk said the deal was "temporarily on hold".

He was not happy about the apparently unacceptable number of bots on Twitter, and - appearing far less serious - sent a poop emoji to Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal when he questioned Mr Musk's assertions about fake accounts.

In June Mr Musk formally threatened to terminate the deal over "spam and fake accounts", and - despite Twitter promising to provide him with raw data to allay his concerns - he pulled the plug a month later.

Twitter's Parag Agrawal defended the firm's record on bots.


What's going on now?


The predicament was born from Twitter's decision to sue Mr Musk for cancelling the deal.

The chair of Twitter's board, Mr Taylor, tweeted that a lawsuit had been filed in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, "to hold Elon Musk accountable to his contractual obligations".

Despite the legal action, Mr Musk seemed determined to get out of the deal and subpoenaed a Twitter whistleblower who claimed the company misled federal regulators about its security risks.

A court document revealed that he also issued a subpoena to his friend Jack Dorsey, the former Twitter boss.

It was all with a view to the lawsuit going to trial in Delaware on 17 October - and then everything changed. Again.

Less than two weeks before the case was due to begin, Mr Musk proposed to go ahead with buying Twitter at $54.20 a share - a total value of $44bn (£38.4bn).

Just when we thought we were out, he pulled us back in.

Twitter shareholders and lawyers - once bitten, twice shy and all that - have seemed understandably dubious, and a Delaware judge pushed the trial date to give Mr Musk time to get his finances in order.

His deadline is 28 October.

Jack Dorsey was to be subpoenaed if the case went to trial


And what happens next?


Who knows?!

But seriously, this time Mr Musk appears to be genuine about going through with the deal - and the fast-approaching deadline means it could be announced any day now.

If, for any reason, the deadline was missed, it would lead to a trial in November.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
×