Twitter sues Tesla CEO Elon Musk for violating $44 billion merger deal

"Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company," Twitter said in the lawsuit

Twitter Inc sued Elon Musk on Tuesday for violating the $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform and asked a Delaware court to order the world's richest person to complete the merger at the agreed $54.20 per Twitter share, according to a court filing.

"Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," said the lawsuit.

On Friday, Musk said he was terminating the deal because Twitter violated the agreement by failing to respond to requests for information regarding fake or spam accounts on the platforms, which is fundamental to its business performance.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit accused Musk of "a long list" of violations of the merger agreement that "have cast a pall over Twitter and its business."

Shares in the social media platform tumbled to $34.06 on Tuesday from above $50 when the deal was accepted by Twitter's board in late April.

Musk said he was terminating the merger because of the lack of information about spam accounts and inaccurate representations that he said amounted to a "material adverse event." He also said executive departures amounted to a failure to conduct business in the ordinary course, as Twitter was obligated to do.

Twitter said it negotiated to remove from the merger agreement language that would have made such firings a violation of ordinary course requirement.

What the complaint says?

• Musk apparently believes that he is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away
• Blames Musk for upswing in attrition 
• Accuses Musk of secretly accumulating shares in the company between January and March without properly disclosing his substantial purchases to regulators

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, DelawareEditing by Chris Reese, Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis)