Here's something to tweet about: There's been a change in Elon Musk's plans.
Six months—and a series of ups and downs—later, the Tesla CEO's proposed $44 billion deal to purchase the social media platform is officially moving forward.
Musk's lawyer sent a letter to Twitter, obtained by E! News on Oct. 4, stating that "the Musk Parties intend to proceed to closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement," provided that the Twitter vs. Musk trial be adjourned.
Twitter Investor Relations tweeted a statement from the company on Oct. 4: "We received the letter from the Musk parties which they have filed with the SEC. The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share."
This announcement comes just days before a trial between Musk and Twitter was set to begin.
Musk first shared his offer to buy Twitter in a letter to chairman Bret Taylor on April 13. "I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," he wrote at the time. "However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
Less than two weeks later, it was announced that the deal was expected to close by the end of the year.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in an April 25 press release. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential–I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
However, by July, Musk pulled out of the deal, alleging that Twitter wouldn't disclose how many bots were using the platform. "Twitter has failed or refused to provide this information," his attorney Mike Ringler wrote in a letter to Twitter's board. "Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk's requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information."
After learning of Musk's decision, Twitter's chairman addressed the move. "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement," Taylor tweeted July 8. "We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery."
During a Sept. 6 hearing, a judge rejected Musk's motion to have the trial moved to November. Per court documents obtained by E! News, the judge noted that "the longer the delay until trial, the greater the risk of irreparable harm to Twitter," and a date was set for Oct. 17.
However, now that the deal is moving forward, the trial may no longer be necessary.