Business | A social saga

Elon Musk is buying Twitter. Really. Probably

The reluctant suitor avoids a trial, but inherits a world of commercial and legal woes

BOCA CHICA, TX - FEBRUARY 10: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk provides an update on the development of the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket at the companys Launch facility in south Texas. Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The deal is on! Isn’t it? With Elon Musk’s courtship of Twitter, it is hard to know. In April the world’s richest man agreed to join the social network’s board, only to change his mind a week later. He then signed a deal to buy the company, but within days was tweeting insults at its leaders. In July he said the deal was off, prompting Twitter to sue. On October 3rd he said he would buy it after all.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “The odd couple”

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