Elon Musk Found Liable for Misleading Twitter Investors in $44 Billion Acquisition
San Francisco, CA – A California jury has determined that Elon Musk misled investors prior to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, in 2022. The verdict, issued on Friday, March 20, 2026, could result in damages reaching up to $2.6 billion, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, Pampena v. Musk.
The lawsuit stemmed from concerns raised after Musk initiated the acquisition process in April 2022. He subsequently cast doubt on the company’s reported figures regarding the prevalence of bot, spam and fake accounts on the platform.
While the jury found that Musk did not engage in a specific scheme to defraud shareholders, they cited two of his tweets – posted on May 13th and May 27th, 2022 – as materially false or misleading. These tweets reportedly led some investors to sell their shares at values below the agreed-upon $54.20 per share bid.
Musk’s legal team, Quinn Emanuel, stated they view the verdict as a temporary setback and intend to appeal, arguing the jury found both for and against the plaintiffs and did not find a fraud scheme.
Following the completion of the acquisition in October 2022, Musk rebranded Twitter as X and subsequently merged it with his artificial intelligence company, xAI, and his aerospace manufacturer, SpaceX. The initial bid for Twitter was made after Musk began acquiring shares in January 2022, eventually becoming the company’s largest shareholder with a 9.1 percent ownership stake. Twitter initially invited Musk to join its board of directors, an offer he later declined.
Keep reading