So what happened? After spending weeks preparing for a legal battle to avoid buying Twitter, Elon Musk shrugged and said, “OK, I’ll buy it”—at exactly the $44 billion price he originally offered in April.  

Grand speculation greeted the move—as with all things Musk—about what was really going on behind the scenes. Was this another negotiating tactic? Does he have another plan up his sleeve? 

My theory for what’s behind the reversal is simple: I think he has bigger challenges to contend with elsewhere. Spending hours and hours preparing for a trial everyone thought he was going to lose didn’t rank high on the list. Of course, you would think he would have realized that before entering this battle. But I suspect the reality of the distraction—coupled with perhaps other things needing more of his attention—really started to settle in. (I am sure the thought that even more embarrassing text messages and details might emerge about him and his friends didn’t help.)