Elon Musk
United States, March 20, 2026.- A federal jury in San Francisco concluded this Friday, March 20, that Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders when he bought the platform in 2022. The jurors, however, ruled out the idea of deliberate fraudulent manipulation to bring down the course of action.
After three weeks of civil proceedings, the court found that two messages published by Tesla's boss in May 2022 contained inaccurate information, which contributed to a significant decline in the stock market title. The amount of damage still to be determined could reach several billion dollars.
The procedure included statements by Elon Musk concerning the proportion of false accounts on the platform. The contractor claimed that they were far more numerous than the officially announced 5%, an argument used to try to renegotiate or even abandon the buy-back agreement.
According to the complainants, these positions were intended to put pressure on Twitter's management to obtain a reduction in the purchase price, in a context where Tesla's value was declining, complicating the financing of the operation. After attempting to withdraw, Elon Musk finally concluded the transaction at an initial price of $44 billion, before renamed social network X.
The decision is a rare setback for the businessman, often perceived as resisting prosecution. His lawyers announced their intention to appeal, calling the verdict simple « against time ».
W.E.
