A federal jury in California has ruled that Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders, contributing to a significant decline in the company’s share price as he was preparing to finalize a $44 billion acquisition. The verdict, delivered in a San Francisco federal court, concluded a three-week trial featuring testimony from Musk himself.
The jury determined that two tweets Musk posted in May 2022 contained false statements that directly impacted Twitter’s stock value. The lawsuit was initiated by investor Giuseppe Pampena, representing individuals who sold Twitter shares between mid-May and early October of that year. The jury’s findings indicated that Musk violated securities regulations that prohibit false and misleading statements affecting stock prices. Estimated damages from the jury could total around $2.6 billion.
While Musk was held accountable for the misleading statements, the jury did not find him guilty of some other fraud allegations, concluding that he did not orchestrate a scheme to deceive investors. Immediately following the verdict, Musk’s legal team announced plans to appeal, labeling the ruling a “setback” for the billionaire entrepreneur.
Musk, who completed his acquisition of Twitter in late October 2022 and subsequently rebranded the platform as X, has built a reputation for defying legal challenges, often emerging victorious. This incident marks a rare instance of legal accountability for Musk, frequently dubbed “Teflon Elon” due to his ability to evade repercussions in the past. Earlier in 2023, he was cleared of similar accusations concerning tweets that suggested he had secured funding to take Tesla private.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has integrated the platform with his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, and his aerospace company, SpaceX. Forbes recently estimated Musk’s net worth at approximately $839 billion, largely derived from his significant investments in his various business ventures, including Tesla and SpaceX.
