Elon Musk accuses Twitter of fraud in buyout deal

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has accused Twitter of fraud, alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of its business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout, as their court battle heats up.

The Tesla boss lodged the claim late on Thursday as he fights back against Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force him to close the deal, which he has tried to cancel. Musk argued in the filing to a Delaware court that the number of users who can be shown advertising on the platform is far below the firm’s figures.

"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," the claim alleged. In its own filing, Twitter rejected the mercurial billionaire’s argument, calling it "as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds."