Twitter, Inc. is pursuing legal action in response to Elon Musk's decision to not "honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his interest," the social media service said in a Tuesday filing with Delaware's Chancery Court.
The company's 62-page complaint accused Musk of turning the situation into a "public spectacle" and standing in violation of Delaware contract law.
The Tesla CEO's "repudiation follows a long list of material contractual breaches by Musk that have cast a pall over Twitter and its business," Twitter said in its filing against Musk, 'X Holdings 1, Inc.' and 'X Holdings 2, Inc.'
The two holdings corporations were created for the sole purpose of the merger.
Twitter is arguing that Musk, who owns 9.6% of Twitter stock, falsely asserted "that consummation of the merger depends on the results of his fishing expedition" regarding spam bots.
"Musk’s strategy is also a model of bad faith," Twitter attorneys wrote. "Musk has been working furiously — albeit fruitlessly — to try to show that the company he promised to buy and not disparage has made material misrepresentations about its business to regulators and investors."
Musk has repeatedly claimed that his primary issue in the Twitter deal relates to the disclosure of information on spam bots, or fake accounts, on the platform.
The billionaire tweeted a preemptive response to the lawsuit on Monday, seemingly celebrating the forthcoming litigation. As of this article's publication, Musk's account has more than 100.9 million followers.
The outcome of the monthlong ordeal will likely hinge on the court's interpretation of the 73-page agreement between Musk and Twitter back in April.
While Twitter and other major media companies are headquartered in California, it is incorporated in Delaware, which has courts of equity, rather than law. Chancery Court chancellors (judges) have historically dealt with cases of plaintiffs seeking compensation or relief. No juries are assembled.