Elon Musk Found Liable for Misleading Twitter Investors

A jury has found Elon Musk liable for misleading investors regarding his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now known as X. The verdict stems from claims that Musk deliberately drove down the company’s stock price in an attempt to renegotiate the purchase agreement at a lower price.

The Acquisition and Initial Concerns

In 2022, Elon Musk initially offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, valuing the company at approximately $44 billion Bloomberg. However, he soon began to express concerns about the number of bot and spam accounts on the platform, claiming Twitter had misrepresented the figures.

Allegations of Deliberate Misleading

Investors alleged that Musk’s public statements, including a tweet on May 13, 2022, stating the deal was “temporarily on hold” pending a review of spam account numbers, were not genuine concerns but a deliberate strategy to depress the stock price Bloomberg Law. The stock price subsequently fell to $32.52 in July 2022, a 40% decrease from Musk’s initial offer price BNN Bloomberg.

The Trial and Jury Verdict

The case went to trial in San Francisco, where an eight-person jury heard three weeks of testimony from Musk and Twitter executives Bloomberg Law. The jury concluded that Musk had defrauded Twitter investors by intentionally misrepresenting his intentions and the reasons for his attempts to back out of the deal PBS.

Musk’s Response and Potential Damages

Musk plans to appeal the verdict, with his legal team stating they view it as “a bump in the road” and anticipate vindication on appeal Bloomberg. The amount of damages is yet to be determined and will depend on claims submitted by shareholders, but could potentially reach billions of dollars, calculated based on the stock price decline during the five-month period in question PBS.