Elon Musk subpoenas former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
Dorsey has previously expressed support for Musk's $44 billion bid
FOX Business host Stuart Varney argues Elon Musk stands out among 'stunningly dull corporate chiefs.'
Elon Musk has subpoenaed Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey as the Tesla chief executive prepares for a legal battle on Oct. 17 in the Delaware Court of Chancery over the termination of his $44 billion acquisition.
Jack Dorsey, the creator, co-founder, and chairman of Twitter and co-founder & CEO of Square, speaks on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention on June 4, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Dorsey, who handed over the chief executive reins to Parag Agrawal after stepping down last year, announced his support for Musk's bid back in April.
"In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company," Dorsey tweeted at the time. "Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness."
He added that both Musk and Agrawal's goal is to create a platform that is "maximally trusted and broadly inclusive."
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The subpoena seeks documents and communications from Dorsey about the Twitter deal, the impact of spam and fake accounts on the company's business and operations and Twitter's use of monetizable daily active usage (mDAU) as a key metric.
It also asks for documents and communications related to alternative measures of active users that Twitter has considered, the company's business plans for analyses for achieving mDAU targets and mDAU's inclusion in executive or director compensation.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk contacted Dorsey on March 26 to discuss the future direction of social media, including the benefits of "open social protocols." He also reached out on May 5 to discuss Dorsey's possible contribution of shares in order to retain an equity investment in Twitter following the transaction's completion.
Representatives for Twitter, Dorsey and Musk did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment.
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Musk, who has countersued Twitter, claims the company made misrepresentations about the total number of spam and fake accounts on its platform when it accepted his $54.20 per share acquisition offer in April. Twitter maintains that spam and fake accounts make up less than 5% of its users.
Dorsey's subpoena comes after Judge Kathaleen McCormick has ordered Twitter to collect, review and produce documents from Kayvon Beykpour, the former general manager of its consumer product division. Musk's team is also requesting information from Bruce Falck, the former lead of Twitter's revenue product division.
Twitter shareholders will vote on Musk's acquisition during a special meeting on Sept. 13.
Reuters contributed to this report.