Elon Musk under investigation by US authorities, Twitter court filing says

The reasoning behind the alleged investigation was unclear, and Musk's lawyers quickly claimed that the filing was a "misdirection."

According to Reuters, the filing called on Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick to get Musk's lawyers to provide documents that had previously been kept private under claims of "investigative privilege."

Urging Musk to cooperate, they stated, "This game of 'hide the ball' must end."

Included in the documents protected by Musk's lawyers were drafts of an email sent in May to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and a slide presentation made for the Federal Trade Commission.

In response, Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro called the filing a "misdirection," and claimed that "it is Twitter's executives that are under federal investigation."

No further information has been provided regarding the extent of the investigation, nor by whom it is being conducted, however as Reuters reports, Musk's takeover deal cleared review by both the FTC and DOJ in June.

Twitter made the filing in question on October 6, the same day Judge McCormick ruled against the tech giant's insistence that a trial be held before close to ensure Musk is able to pay up.

Musk's lawyers petitioned the court to stay the trial, pointing out that the billionaire and his financiers had promised to come up with the money in time. Their wish was granted.

"If the transaction does not close by 5 pm on October 28, 2022," McCormick warned, "the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates."