The lawyer who beat Elon Musk, twice
The Verge profiles Bill Savitt, a lawyer from the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz who successfully defeated Elon Musk in court twice — first to force Musk to complete the Twitter acquisition, and later to hold him in contempt during discovery disputes in the related shareholder lawsuit.
Background
- **Bill Savitt** is a partner at the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a top-tier corporate litigation firm known for representing large companies in high-stakes disputes. He is a leading expert in corporate and mergers & acquisitions law.
- Savitt defeated **Elon Musk** in two major lawsuits. First in 2022, when he represented Twitter's board in forcing Musk to complete the $44 billion acquisition after Musk tried to back out, resulting in the Delaware Court of Chancery ordering Musk to close the deal. Second in 2024, representing Tesla shareholders in voiding Musk's $56 billion pay package, which a Delaware judge ruled was improperly negotiated and unfair.
- These cases are significant because they show that even the world's richest person can be subject to corporate law rulings, setting important precedents about executive compensation and the enforceability of merger agreements.
- The article profiles Savitt's legal style and explains how a relatively low-profile litigator became the most consequential courtroom adversary to Musk — winning cases that reshaped corporate governance and M&A law.