See in tweets the twists in the negotiation between Elon Musk and Twitter

There has never been a corporate takeover saga like this one, where the takeover target is also the business battleground.

When the richest man in the world – and self-styled “meme lord” – Elon Musk took a minority stake on Twitter in March, not even he could have imagined how quickly the situation would escalate.

Most deals are discussed behind closed doors. Musk’s $44 billion offer for Twitter couldn’t have been more public. First, the billionaire teased the company on his own website, on his personal account of 108 million followers. Afterwards, the court discussion over his attempt to backtrack produced a vast collection of private messages between Musk and a list of Silicon Valley investors, executives and consultants.

For anyone who has lost track of the attacks, denunciations, broken promises, empty threats and memes over the past few months, here’s a tweet-by-tweet timeline of how the battle for the internet’s public square exploded.

MARCH 14, 2022

Unbeknownst to the company, Elon Musk quietly acquires a 9.2% stake in Twitter

25TH MARCH

Musk publishes a poll on Twitter in which he asks users about freedom of expression on the platform

APRIL 4

In a request to the US financial regulator, Musk is revealed as Twitter’s biggest shareholder.

APRIL 5TH

A day after the disclosure of his participation, Musk is invited to join the Twitter board and accepts the proposal. Chief Executive Parag Agrawal says he is “excited” by the appointment

11TH OF APRIL

Musk decides not to join Twitter’s board, in a move that has fueled speculation he would mount a hostile takeover. Agrawal says the company remains open to Musk’s “collaboration”

APRIL 14

Musk launches hostile Twitter bid valued at $44 billion, but says he’s “not sure” if it will succeed

APRIL 15TH

Twitter defends itself with a “poison pill” to try to stop the acquisition of Musk

APRIL 21

Musk unveils $46.5 billion financing package to fund the Twitter offer, personally putting him into $33.5 billion in debt, according to an analysis by the Financial Times, unless he could get additional outside support.

APRIL 25

Twitter accepts Musk’s $44 billion takeover offer. Co-founder and former chief executive Jack Dorsey publicly supports the proposal, calling it a “unique solution” to the site’s problems.

APRIL 28

In its first quarterly earnings report since the news of Musk’s takeover bid, Twitter admits to having inflated viewership numbers for three years.

APRIL 29

Musk boosts his cash position ahead of the Twitter deal, selling $8.5 billion worth of Tesla stock and saying there are no more sales planned.

MAY 5

Larry Ellison, Binance and Sequoia contribute funding for Musk’s offering. Binance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao tells the FT that his company’s support is essentially a “blank check”

MAY 12

Twitter announces a freeze on hiring and exits of executives, including its chief consumer officer Kayvon Beykpour

MAY 13

Musk claims the Twitter deal is “on hold” because of bots and spam accounts, and asks Agrawal to “prove” metrics of fake accounts on the platform

JUNE 16

Musk Addresses Twitter Staff At General Meeting, Saying The Company Needs To “Get Healthy”

JULY 8

Musk formally announces his intention to back out of the deal. Twitter’s chairman says the company remains committed to the deal, creating the prospect of a high-stakes court battle.

JULY 12

Twitter sues Musk and the two parties head for a showdown at the Delaware Court of Chancery

JULY, 19

Denying Musk’s request for a postponement, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery grants Twitter a quick judgment. Explaining her decision, she says Twitter was being hampered by a “cloud of uncertainty”

JULY, 22

Twitter reports its second-quarter earnings, blaming Musk and the ad drop for revenue below Wall Street’s expectations

JULY 27

After being instructed by the judge to resolve among themselves, the parties agree on a date of October 17 to begin the trial.

JULY 29

Musk disputes Twitter over deal, details kept under wraps

AUGUST 4

Twitter responds to Musk’s complaints, calling them “implausible”

AUGUST 9

Musk sells another $7.5 billion worth of Tesla stock, taking advantage of a recent rally in its price. He says the sale is necessary to cover the (“hopefully unlikely”) event that he needs additional funding if the Twitter deal is forced to go ahead.

AUGUST 22

Musk subpoenas Dorsey for any communication related to the “impact or effect of false or spam accounts on Twitter’s business and operations”

AUGUST 23RD

Former Twitter security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko turns whistleblower, alleging bot and security fraud, bolstering Musk’s thesis

AUGUST 24

The influential US Senate Judiciary Committee announces that Zatko will testify on September 13 to discuss potential security breaches on Twitter

AUGUST 25TH

The Delaware judge rules that Twitter must hand over more data to Musk in order to analyze the authenticity of the accounts, but it does not meet the full demand for a huge amount of historical data.

SEPTEMBER 7

Delaware judge heeds Musk’s request to review his lawsuit against Twitter to include recent whistleblower revelations

SEPTEMBER 13

A whistleblower tells a Senate hearing that Twitter put “profits over security”, claiming the company’s systems were more than a decade behind industry standards.

SEPTEMBER 27

During a pre-trial hearing, Twitter claims that researchers hired by Musk failed to back up the businessman’s claim that the number of spam accounts and bots on the platform was “extremely higher” than the company had disclosed to investors.

SEPTEMBER 29

Hundreds of private messages sent and received by Musk reveal a list of tech figures offering to help him complete the deal. Podcaster Joe Rogan asked Musk if he intended to “free Twitter from the censor’s happy gang.”

The messages, released in a court document, also appear to show the apparent breakdown in relations between Musk and Agrawal.

“This is a waste of time,” Musk wrote in a message to Twitter’s chief executive in the days leading up to the hostile takeover bid.

OCTOBER 4TH

In a stunning twist, Musk sends a letter to Twitter saying the original $44 billion settlement remains in place — as long as he can still get the necessary funding and on the condition that the litigation is stopped. He says the Twitter ownership will form the basis of his vision for a new app that “does it all”

OCTOBER 5

As the two sides look for a way to finally close the deal, Twitter agrees to delay a deposition from Musk that was scheduled for Oct. 6.