Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has turned into a celebrity relationship. It’s on then it’s off then it’s on-again, then it’s over. But is it over? The sticking point was how many actual user accounts there are (many as you know are fake) and since Twitter won’t cough that up, Musk says he’s done. Or is he?
News reports that Musk is walking away from the deal have been popping across the interwebs for days. Many on the right are despondent as a major victory for free speech falls apart. It would be tragic but it’s not over until it is over.
A lawsuit has been filed against Musk for walking away from the deal so it’s off to the courts they go where it seems very likely that the actual number of Twitter users will have to be provided during discovery.
Do I need to type that again?
Walking away was always going to trigger a lawsuit. A lawsuit was always going to involve discovery. If, during discovery, Elon gets the number he is after he can choose to walk back ending the lawsuit.
The number of actual Twitter accounts becomes public knowledge exposing the vast Twitter conspiracy only theorized up to that moment. The methods by which the platform is used to flood the zone with propaganda. The mountain of alledged fake accounts that were created by political operators and activist groups.
Maybe.
Much like the Musk takeover, nothing is a done deal until the deal is done, and maybe I’m overthinking it, but it looks to me like Musk found a way to find out what he needed to know and that’s a beautiful thing.
If it works.
