A timeline of Elon Musk's 9-month chaotic saga to buy Twitter, from him tweeting a poop emoji at the CEO to a whistleblower appearing before Congress

Grace Kay,Katie CanalesSep 14, 2022, 00:05 IST

Britta Pedersen/Getty Images; Twitter; Rachel Mendelson/Insider

Elon Musk's will-he-won't-he dance to buy Twitter has been going on for months.
Events were set in motion when Musk began buying more Twitter shares in January.

Elon Musk and Twitter's chaotic saga rages on, and it's nowhere near resolved.

It's a tale that's spanned nine months – beginning with Musk buying up Twitter shares in January, all the way to the company's ex-security chief-turned-whistleblower appearing before Congress on Tuesday.

If you're hazy on some of the events within that time period, we've compiled a full timeline of developments, from Musk tweeting a poop emoji at CEO Parag Agrawal to Twitter and Musk suing each other.

In January, Musk began purchasing Twitter shares on an almost daily basis, records show.

Elon MuskPatrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

The billionaire did not reveal his stake until April 4 when he had amassed about 9.2% of Twitter's shares.

Andrew Kelly/Reuters

On April 10, news surfaced that Musk had chosen not to join the board.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

On April 14, Musk offered to buy the company for $54.20 per share.

Elon Musk speaks at an oil and gas conference in Stavanger, Norway.Reuters

The next week, however, Twitter’s board accepted Musk’s offer.

Maja Hitij/Getty Images

On May 13, the billionaire tweeted that the deal was “on hold”

A side-by-side image of Agrawal and Musk.Getty Images

The next month, Musk filed a complaint with the SEC.

Elon Musk.REUTERS/Adrees Latif

In response, Twitter said it gave Musk full access to its "firehose" of data.

Alex Kantrowitz

On July 8, Musk's legal team notified the SEC that he planned to walk away from the merger.

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.Jed Jacobsohn/AP

Twitter fired back on July 12 by suing Musk and accusing him of “refusing to honor his obligations.”

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, Andrew Kelly/Reuters

On August 4, Musk countersued Twitter.

Elon Musk.AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Over 100 subpoenas were then served across both sides.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is among those who were subpoenaed.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Then came the whistleblower.

Peiter Zatko (left) and Elon Musk.Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Within a week, Musk's legal team subpoenaed Zatko.

Ex-Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko.Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Last week, Musk took another loss in a pre-trial hearing after the judge denied his request to delay the trial.

Elon Musk.Patrick Pleul/AP

During the hearing, it was revealed that Musk had told a banker at Morgan Stanley to "slow down" the deal in May.

Musk asked Tesla executives to stop recruiting.Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images

On Monday, Twitter slammed Musk's third attempt to get out of the deal as "invalid and wrongful."

Getty Images

On Tuesday, Twitter’s shareholders are expected to approve Musk’s original $44 billion purchase agreement

Experts say Musk's teflon-like ability to evade repercussions is due to a complex interplay of exceptionalism, a fierce cult-like fandom, and a culture of "billionaire worship."Gotham/Getty Images

Zatko appeared before Congress on Tuesday.

Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on data security at Twitter, on Capitol Hill, September 13, 2022.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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