Just days before the first court hearing in Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force the Tesla boss to close the $44b deal, the firm is stuck in limbo. “The best conclusion for me would be that he leaves us alone, so that we can go on our merry way,” an engineer at the key social media network told AFP on condition of anonymity. The engineer spoke of employees departing and a “climate of uncertainty that does not leave one with a peaceful state of mind.” “We’re still trying to do our work normally, because the main reasons why we chose to work for Twitter still hold true,” he added. But there’s been nothing normal about Musk’s unsolicited bid that he’s now backed away from, saying Twitter has obfuscated on the number of fake accounts on the platform. He has harangued the network, on its own platform no less, with mocking tweets about its management and direction. “Musk’s repeated disparagement of Twitter and its personnel, create uncertainty… that harm Twitter and its stockholders,” the firm’s lawyers argued in their lawsuit lodged this week. The billionaire’s comments “also expose Twitter to adverse effects on its business operations, employees, and stock price,” the lawyers added. A judge has set the first hearing in the case for Tuesday in a court in the eastern state of Delaware. “Twitter is facing a huge image crisis, and confidence in its leadership is wavering,” eMarketer analyst Debra Williamson told AFP. “But whether the Musk situation has affected its revenues is unclear.” She said the most loyal advertisers have likely stuck around, but those less committed to Twitter may have scaled back their spending while waiting for the endgame. Angelo Carusone, president of watchdog group Media Matters, thinks the damage is already done because Musk has been a frequent critic of content moderation. The fight against hate and disinformation is widely defended internally, but also by many advertisers, concerned that their brands are not associated with toxic messages.