Elon Musk says he is 'obviously overpaying' in his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter

• Elon Musk says he's "obviously overpaying" with his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.
• The tech mogul added that he's "excited" about the takeover and that the site has "incredible potential."

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest person, says he's "obviously overpaying" to buy Twitter, just a week before a judge's deadline for his $44 billion takeover of the company.

Musk's purchase of Twitter has been fraught with controversies, including lawsuits and a potential upcoming trial.

Musk is buying the social media site for $54.20 a share, an offer he first made in April, though he came close to scoring an 8% discount, sources previously told Insider.

"Although obviously myself and the other investors are obviously overpaying for Twitter right now, the long-term potential for Twitter in my view is an order of magnitude greater its current value," Musk, who is Tesla's CEO, said at the electric-vehicle maker's earnings call Wednesday.

"I'm excited about the Twitter situation, because obviously I know their product incredibly well," he said. "And I think it's an asset that has sort of languished for a long time but has incredible potential."

Musk is the world's richest person, with a current net worth of $209 billion, according to estimates by Bloomberg.

Musk U-turned on his decision to buy Twitter – and then U-turned again

Musk initially offered to buy Twitter in April after accumulating a 9.2% share, making him its biggest shareholder, and trying to join its board of directors.

But the next month he seemed more hesitant about buying the site, and in July he sent a letter to Twitter terminating the deal, claiming that the social-media giant had withheld or distorted data on the number of bot accounts on the platform. Twitter says bots make up less than 5% of its 238 million monetized daily active users.

Within days, Twitter sued Musk, accusing him of "refusing to honor his obligations." Musk countersued later in July, alleging that the company intentionally miscounted the number of spam accounts as part of what he called "its scheme to mislead investors about the company's prospects."

After months of Musk trying to abandon the deal, it is now back on the cards.

Talks to buy the company for $50 a share fell through after the two sides clashed, with Musk's attorney saying that Twitter's executives and board wanted "all kinds of things" in the renegotiated deal that the tech mogul refused to accept. Musk's lawyers ultimately said he would renew the original offer at $54.20 a share on October 4.

The judge overseeing Twitter's case against Musk in Delaware Chancery Court has agreed to halt proceedings in the case until October 28 to give them time to to close on the transaction, or otherwise the parties will face a trial in November. Musk's legal team has said the deal can close by then.

Bloomberg reported that Twitter froze its employees' ability to access and trade shares on Monday in a sign that Musk's deal is close to completion.