Judge halts Elon Musk-Twitter litigation to allow time to finance $44bn takeover

A Delaware judge has postponed the Twitter v Elon Musk trial in order to give the Tesla chief executive time to complete his proposed $44bn takeover of the social media platform.

The litigation was halted until 28 October to allow both parties to close the transaction, after Musk said he needed time to put together the funds for the deal. Judge Kathaleen McCormick said if the deal did not close by her deadline the parties were to contact her to schedule a November trial.

Twitter and Musk were scheduled to face off in a trial in Delaware on 17 October. However, Musk had moved to head off the proceedings on Monday by performing a U-turn on his decision to walk away from the takeover. Twitter had sued Musk in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, in an effort to force him to complete a deal he agreed to in April.

The decision by Judge McCormick marked another day of drama for the Twitter takeover saga.

Twitter said that as part of his renewed offer, the Tesla CEO was asking to reserve the right to resurrect a lawsuit against the company if the closing does not happen.

Shares in Twitter closed down 3.8% at $49.39.