London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 05, 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
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
×