A San Francisco jury ruled that Elon Musk deceived Twitter shareholders during his chaotic $44 billion buyout of the platform in 2022. Damages are yet to be determined but could amount to several billion dollars. The jury rejected claims of deliberate fraudulent maneuvers.
A California jury ruled on Friday that Elon Musk posted two misleading tweets in May 2022, causing a drop in Twitter's stock price. These statements addressed the number of fake accounts on the platform, which Musk claimed far exceeded the 5% declared by Twitter in regulatory filings. The three-week civil trial at San Francisco's federal court featured in-person testimony from Musk. Plaintiffs argued Musk used these claims to justify backing out of the deal and pressure for a lower price amid falling Tesla shares. Musk had initially offered $44 billion before attempting to withdraw. Twitter sued him in Delaware to enforce the agreement; he ultimately paid the original amount and renamed the platform X. Damages, per plaintiffs' lawyers cited by CNBC, could reach several billion dollars. This marks a rare judicial loss for Musk, dubbed «Teflon Elon». In 2023, the same court cleared him in a similar Tesla case over a 2018 tweet. Musk, with a net worth of $839 billion in early March per Forbes, has not yet responded and can appeal.
