Testifying in past legal battles, the world’s richest person has called opposing attorneys «reprehensible,» questioned their happiness and accused them of «extortion.»
Billionaire Elon Musk’s tendency to dish out insults while being questioned under oath will be tested anew this week, when lawyers for Twitter Inc are expected to interview the Tesla Inc CEO about his abrupt decision in July to ditch his $44 billion deal for the social media company.
Testifying in past legal battles, the world’s richest person has called opposing attorneys «reprehensible,» questioned their happiness and accused them of «extortion.» He asked one attorney if he was working on a contingency because the lawyer’s client was allegedly behind on child support payments.
«So probably you’re on a contingency or you’re taking that kid’s money. Which is it?» Musk asked a lawyer for a whistleblower in a case against Tesla, according to a transcript of the 2020 deposition.
The high-stakes Twitter interview is closed to the public. A court filing last week said the Musk deposition was scheduled to begin on Monday and run into Wednesday, if needed. Sources with knowledge of the deposition said Musk was not questioned on Monday and they did not know what day it would begin nor did they give a reason for the delay.
Musk’s lawyers will want to keep him focused on answering questions, but that can be a challenge with such a smart and opinionated witness, said James Morsch, a corporate litigator who is not involved in the court battle.
«I would compare it to trying to hold a tiger by his tail,» Morsch said.
In a 2019 deposition in litigation over Tesla’s takeover of solar-panel maker SolarCity, Musk refused five times to answer one of the initial questions because of the way it was worded, the transcript shows.
