Twitter shareholders sue Elon Musk also Twitter over the messy deal

Twitter shareholders are suing Elon Musk also Twitter itself over the messy acquisition process that is still ongoing and has contributed to fluctuations in its stock price.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX revealed the significant stake on Twitter on April 4 and 10 days later offered to buy it for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. He sold and pledged a portion of his ownership in Tesla as collateral for a loan to fund the deal.

After Musk's takeover bid, Twitter's share price fell more than 12 percent, and Tesla fell about 28 percent in a broad sell-off in tech stocks. Tesla shares were down more than 40 percent at the close on Wednesday since Musk first disclosed the store. In a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday, shareholders on Twitter alleged that Musk violated California corporate laws on multiple fronts and engaged in market manipulation.

In a possible breach, they alleged that Musk benefited financially from delaying a necessary announcement of his stake on Twitter and temporarily hiding his plans to join the social network's board of directors in early April.

Musk also took a stake in Twitter; the complaint says because he learned of inside information from the company through private conversations with board members and executives, including former CEO Jack Dorsey, a longtime friend of Musk, and Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban. A Twitter board member whose company previously invested in SolarCity before Tesla acquired it. Dorsey officially stepped down from Twitter's board of directors on Wednesday.

The lawsuit also alleges that Musk violated California law by doubting whether he would complete the deal after signing the purchase agreement.

Earlier this month, Musk said he was awaiting the acquisition of Twitter to learn more about the platform's inauthentic activity, including information about fake or automated accounts.

The shareholder complaint added that its complaints about the "bots" were part of a plan to negotiate a better price or end the deal.