Data scientists working for Elon Musk could not substantiate the billionaire’s allegations that Twitter had a problem with excess bots, creating a significant hindrance for him in the trial.
Musk was informed the day before he terminated his agreement with Twitter by two data firms that his bot estimates were inaccurate, according to findings from Twitter’s lawyers on Tuesday. The recently discovered research led Twitter’s legal team to allege that Musk had attempted to hide these estimates from court proceedings during the Tuesday hearing.
The firm Cyabra told Musk it estimated that Twitter possibly had 11% bots or fake accounts, while CounterAction alleged that the platform only had 5.3% bots, according to Insider. These estimates are significantly lower than the billionaire’s estimate in May of 20%.
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Both estimates are “very much in line with Twitter’s claims,” a lawyer for the company said at a Tuesday hearing. “None of these analyses remotely supported what Mr. Musk told the Twitter parties and told the world in the termination letter he served up on July 8.”
Twitter’s legal team accused Musk of withholding the estimates during the court rulings because they only received access to these claims on Tuesday when they had been requesting them since the early days of the legal process.
“If there are any analyses that exist that actually substantiate what Mr. Musk told Twitter and told the world, they certainly have not been produced in discovery in this case,” the attorney added.
Musk’s legal team has regularly argued that Twitter had deceived him and his team about the number of users and what information was provided through Securities and Exchange Commission filings. He filed a second and third letter, arguing that Twitter had not disclosed critical details about its deals with the former Twitter head of security and whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. This has led to his legal team making multiple requests for information on how the company counts bots and its internal dealings. Musk’s concerns were echoed by others who had considered acquiring Twitter, including former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Twitter’s core argument has focused on claims that Musk ended the deal after experiencing cold feet and seeing his Tesla stock drop in value.
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The two parties are scheduled to meet in October in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Musk was scheduled to appear at a deposition on Monday, but the testimony and an appearance from Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal were canceled for uncertain reasons.
