In his first formal response to the company's lawsuit aimed at forcing him to complete a $44 billion acquisition of the social media service, Musk accused the company of deceiving him and not notifying him of executive changes.
In a legal filing intended to oppose the company's demand for a four-day trial in September in the case, lawyers for Mr. Musk argued that the company's demand for a four-day trial in September was excessive.
Lawyers for Mr. Musk said in the filing that the company was rushing to court after a two-month treasure hunt. The issue of fake accounts on the service was one that Mr. Musk wanted to pull out of.
Mr. Musk's deal to buy the company was due to be completed by October 24th. The February date was proposed by Mr. Musk's lawyers because the deal deadline automatically extends in the event of litigation. The financing for the deal will be provided by the banks that have committed to it.
Mr. Musk was accused of trying to unfairly end the acquisition. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Musk lied about not being aware of the prevalence of fake accounts on the service.
The legal fight will be long and ugly. The back-and-forth between the two sides had been going on for a long time. Mr. Musk questioned the prevalence of fake accounts on the platform. A fake account can be used to spread junk mail or manipulate the service to boost its popularity.
There was a time when Mr. Musk said that the deal was on hold. His actions coincide with a decline in the value of tech shares and that is the main source of his wealth.
The company has said that it worked with Mr. Musk to close the deal. If the debt that Mr. Musk has corralled for the acquisition is in place, the specific performance clause will allow the company to force the deal through.
The spokesman did not reply to the request.
A professor at a law school said it was clear why Mr. Musk wasn't moving quickly.
She said that the board has an interest in getting this resolved quickly and that he has an interest in delay. She said that Mr. Musk would want to get as much discovery as possible and take as much time up as possible to make a settlement.
Many of the same arguments were made by Mr. Musk's lawyers in the legal filing.
The filing said that Mr. Musk was stymied by the lack of a thorough count of fake accounts on the site. The filing said that the company used people to figure out the information rather than using machines.
The filing said that Mr. Musk tried to get more data from the company about fake accounts.
It took months of discovery for Mr. Musk to figure out how to count fake accounts. According to Mr. Musk, 5 percent of active users are false. Under the terms of the deal, Mr. Musk could walk away from the company if the figures are incorrect.
Lawyers for Mr. Musk said that there have been mistakes with the user numbers. The company said in April that it had overcounted users.
The company told Mr. Musk's lawyers about the two executives, and the lawyers didn't object.
The case between Mr. Musk and the company will be heard at Chancery Court in Delaware on Tuesday. The chancellor of the court will decide if the case should be speeded up or delayed for Mr. Musk.
The judge will decide if Mr. Musk needs to close the deal. She could force him to pay damages. Damages would be capped at $1 billion. The two sides could make a deal better.
Since Mr. Musk agreed to buy the company, its value has plummeted. The earnings are due on Friday.
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