Key takeaways: 

• Since Musk’s acquisition proposal, Twitter’s share price has fallen almost 12%, and Tesla’s is down nearly 28% as part of a broad sell-off in tech shares.
• In a proposed class-action case filed on Wednesday, Twitter shareholders allege that Musk broke California corporate rules on several fronts and was immersed in market manipulation.
• The shareholders’ objection says his gripes regarding “bots” were part of a scheme to negotiate a better cost or kill the deal.

Twitter shareholders are suing Elon Musk and Twitter itself over handling a messy purchase process that is still underway and has contributed to volatile price swings in its share price.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEOs announced a significant stake in Twitter on April 4 and 10 days later proposed a buyout for $44 billion, or $54.20 per stock. He has sold and promised a lump of his Tesla holdings as collateral for loans to fund the deal.  

Since Musk’s acquisition proposal, Twitter’s share price has sunk more than 12%, and Tesla’s is down approximately 28% as part of a broad sell-off in tech stocks. Since Musk first disclosed his stake, Tesla stocks were off more than 40% at the end of trading Wednesday.

Tesla shares have fallen more than 40% since Elon Musk’s stake in Twitter was publicly revealed on April 4.