Texts Show Roll Call Of Tech Figures Tried To Help Elon Musk In Twitter Deal

A series of text messages released as part of a legal battle against Elon Musk's attempt to block a Twitter takeover have revealed a frantic effort to strike a $44 billion deal with the help of prominent Silicon backers. Valley.

Hundreds of messages between Musk and his partners dating back to early 2022 show the billionaire businessman interacting with Twitter's management, board and advisors at Morgan Stanley, potential investors such as FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and occasional fans of your show, including the podcast. Submitted by Joe Rogan.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told Musk that he had previously tried to get him on the company's board of directors in 2020, but was turned down, the messages say.

The documents show that when Musk announced his plans for his release in April, several big names offered to support his offer.

During the exchange, Michael Grimes, chief banker at Morgan Stanley, told Musk that Bankman-Fried, the billionaire CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was willing to invest $5 billion in the deal.

Grimes said Bankman-Fried will work to integrate Twitter's blockchain technology. "If you like him, he can shake hands with 5 people and I think you will," Grimes said in one of the many text messages sent to Musk.

The billionaire rejected the idea and questioned Bankman Fried's finances, asking, "Does Sam really have $3 billion in cash?"

Matthias Dufner, chief executive of German media group Axel Springer, also suggested Musk run Twitter if he buys it in order to "create a real platform for free speech," and write a detailed proposal on how it works.

Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, claimed he made "$2 billion," while LinkedIn co-founder and partner Reed Hoffman said he could put in the same amount. Ellison ended up contributing $1 billion to the deal.

Musk and Grimes have complained about Orlando Bravo, a private equity software mogul, joining the acquisition.

The documents were revealed as Musk and Twitter prepare to appear in court next month. Musk announced in July that he intended to withdraw from the deal, claiming that Twitter had violated the merger agreement by misleading him and regulators about the number of fake accounts on the platform.

Twitter denied the allegations and announced a counter-lawsuit in an effort to force Musk to cancel the deal.

Documents filed Thursday show that Musk first turned to Twitter leaders to join the board in early April after a conversation with Dorsey in which the former Twitter CEO complained that the platform "isn't. It could be a company" and instead "should be owned by a corporation. "."

Dorsey said he had previously tried to persuade Musk to join, but they had refused because he was "risk-averse". "I want to help if I can," replied Musk, who is credited with his long friendship with Dorsey.

Dorsey later wrote to Musk, describing Twitter's board of directors as "terrible."

Reports indicate a rift occurred between Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal shortly after the Tesla boss agreed to join the social network's board of directors. In the post, Agarwal asked, "Is Twitter dying?" The billionaire was scolded for writing it. on the platform, arguing that it was confusing to workers.

"Have you done this this week?" Kasturi writes versus emotions. "I'm not going to board. It's a waste of time. I suggest you make Twitter private."

The reports also included an appearance by podcaster Rogan, who asked Musk if he would free Twitter from the happy crowd of censorship. "Twitter's CEO is my dream job," said Jason Calacanis, an angel investor who wanted to fund Musk's bid and help run the company when it went private.

The data dump came after Twitter accused Musk of refusing to cooperate with the delivery of messages, including messages on the Signal platform.

Twitter lawyers used reports from third parties to indicate that Musk had not been in contact with court orders and asked a Delaware judge to punish the billionaire for what they described as a violation of discovery rules.