How laughing Elon Musk got serious about ending Twitter deal

Despite being surrounded by the best advisers money can buy, Musk has had an erratic relationship with the legal minutiae of his now abandoned $44bn Twitter takeover. On the one hand, his legal team has filed tightly argued disclosures against the deal, citing various clauses in the agreement. On the other, he posts poo emojis at the people he is negotiating with.

Nonetheless, his hot-cold behaviour has led some observers to wonder how serious he was about buying the company. If he meant to buy the company at the beginning, a recent rout in tech shares helped change his mind, says Drew Pascarella, a senior lecturer on finance at Cornell University.

Twitter shares, which fell 6.5% when trading opened in New York on Monday to $34.46, have declined by about 20% so far this year and can expect to fall further if Musk exits completely. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index gives an idea of the wider market, having fallen 25% so far this year.

However, some legal and corporate experts also believe both sides will reach a settlement in order to avoid a situation where Musk is forced to buy a company he does not want, amid a legal battle that does further damage to the morale and share price of the company.