Elon Musk and the Legal Ramifications of the Twitter Deal

Available for Interviews: Zaki Tamir

Zaki Issac Tamir, Esq., is an international lawyer the founder and managing partner of Tamir Law Group, practicing law in commercial and civil ligation, family law, and business/corporate legal counseling.

What Zaki Tamir can say in an interview about
The Elon Musk / Twitter Deal:

We should be concerned about what Elon Musk is going to do with Twitter and we should certainly be watching very carefully.
  • The federal lawsuit against Musk brought by Twitter investors essentially claims that Musk intentionally and unlawfully hid the fact that he was actively purchasing an increased amount of Twitter stock (more than 72 million shares to date) in order to mislead other investors about how much the stock was really worth. If Musk had disclosed that he purchased more than 9% of Twitter over the span of a few months, as he was legally required to do, the stock would have shot up in value because of the demand, and the “average Joe” investor could have made a pretty penny on the increased value that came as a result of the demand. When it was later discovered that Musk owns 9.1% of Twitter and intends to buy the company the stock shot up as expected by 27%.

  • In January Musk owned only 620,000 shares. Indeed, the federal regulations require disclosure of ownership of 5% or more. But let us hypothetically suppose that Musk would have disclosed to the public in January that he was intending to buy Twitter and that the stock increase of 27% would have gone up at that time. The money that Musk saved (approximately $13.50 per share x 72.4 Million= $977,400,000.00), nearly $1 Billion dollars would have gone to so many Americans that invest honestly and play by the rules every day. For Musk, the richest man in the world, that $1 Billion is a drop in the bucket. Not cool.
  • The SEC is strangely silent. No comment and no charges yet. The SEC is still trying to get from Musk a $40 Million fine it charged for violations related to Musk’s comments about buying out Tesla. Comments that caused millions of dollars in damages to investors.
  • We are seeing a pattern of behavior that should concern legal experts and market regulators. Is our government equipped to regulate a social media giant like Twitter? As a society and as a free nation do want more governmental regulation? If it is proven that Musk intentionally misled investors by omissions and unlawfully failed to report the purchase of shares in order to gain financial benefit, what type of power are we giving a person that owns or will own one of the biggest social media outlets in the world.
  • On one hand, government regulation can be a slippery slope of its own and there are reasonable opinions that might argue in favor of the individual rights and freedom of enterprise absent government obstruction and regulation. But, on the other hand, who else is strong enough to take on Musk? We have seen the decisions made by Twitter and other major social media outlets regarding former President Donald Trump and excluding him from the network-based largely on conflicting politics and content control. What if it was Trump purchasing Twitter would the public be concerned? I suspect the answer is yes. And, the problem is that we are dealing with a double-edged sword.
  • Although the current charges against Musk are not directly related to monopoly, let’s face it, there is a new sheriff in town. Bill Gates out, Elon Musk, in. Gates went through years of litigation and negotiations with the government between 1994 and 2001 about Internet Explorer and Windows, and how MS pushed products to run with the Windows program. Gates lost and had to change his system to make it divisible. Can you imagine the degree of power Gates would have today if he had the monopoly on the pc browser? One thing is certain, at that time in 1994 they could not have imagined how widespread reliance on internet connection is. By the click of a button Gates would have had the power to shut down the internet access of most of the civilized world. That is way too much power for an individual that is not voted in by the people.

 

Interview: Zaki Tamir

Zaki Tamir, Esq., is the founder and managing partner of Tamir Law Group.

Upon graduation from law school in 2004, Mr. Tamir began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, NY, where he tried many complex felony trials. He resigned from his position at the DA in 2009 to open the Tamir Law Group.

Since entering private practice, Mr. Tamir has expanded his practice to include commercial and civil litigation, family law, and business/corporate legal counseling. He also continues to specialize in complex criminal matters from DUIs to homicides.

Tamir is also the chairman of the Board of The Crown Heights Jewish Community Council and President of Aliyah Institute in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY.

Under Mr. Tamir’s supervision and guidance, Tamir Law Group has established itself as a successful boutique firm advocating on its clients’ behalf in both State and Federal Courts.

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Managing Editor
Director of Public Relations
MEDIA AMBASSADORS
Success In Media, Inc.
Jo@SuccessInMedia.com

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