https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/g-s1-114660/elon-musk-misled-investors-twitter-purchaseSAN FRANCISCO — A jury has found Elon Musk liable for misleading investors by deliberately driving down Twitter's stock price in the tumultuous months leading up to his 2022 acquisition of the social media company for $44 billion. But it absolved him of some fraud allegations, finding that he did not "scheme" to mislead investors.The civil trial in San Francisco centered on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control of Twitter, which he later renamed X. Jurors were asked to decide if two tweets and comments Musk made on a podcast in May 2022 amounted to him intentionally defrauding Twitter shareholders, who sold their shares based on Musk's statements.The nine-person jury returned the verdict after nearly four days of deliberation, nearly three weeks after the trial began on March 2. They said that while Musk was liable for misleading investors with two tweets — including one said the Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold," he did not do so with a statement he made on a podcast and that he did not intentionally "scheme" to defraud investors.
The jury awarded shareholders between about $3 and $8 per stock per day as damages, which the plaintiffs' lawyers said amounts to about $2.1 billion. Musk's fortune is currently estimated at about $814 billion, much of it tied up in Tesla shares."It's an important victory, not just for investors of Twitter, but for the public markets," said Joseph Cotchett, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "I think the jury's verdict sends a strong message that just because you're a rich and powerful person, you still have to obey the law, and no man is above the law."Musk's lawyers said they had no comment as they walked out of the courtroom.Much of the trial focused on Musk's claims about the number of bots on Twitter. Musk testified that Twitter had a much higher number of fake and spam accounts than the 5% it disclosed in regulatory filings. He used what he called Twitter's misrepresentation of the number of fake accounts on its service as a reason to retreat from the purchase.After Musk tried to back out, Twitter went to court in Delaware to force him to honor his original deal. Just before that case was scheduled to go to trial, Musk reversed course again and agreed to pay what he had originally promised.
The central question of the case was whether Musk sent out tweets — including one on May 13, 2022, that said the Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold" while he sought information on the number of fake accounts on the service — as a deliberate scheme to tank Twitter's shares. The jury found that while Musk did mislead investors with two tweets, he did not do so with a statement he made on a podcast because it was an opinion. The jurors also absolved him of scheming to drive down the stock.The nearly three-week trial in San Francisco federal court for the Northern District of California saw testimony from former Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, as well as Musk, who was on the stand for more than a day.In his testimony, Musk maintained that Twitter's leadership lied about the amount of bots on the platform and withheld information from him about how the number of fake accounts was calculated. He repeatedly described the information that Twitter's board provided with an abbreviation for a bull's scatology. "I did make it clear that I thought it was BS," Musk said of Twitter's calculations asserting that only about 5% of its accounts were bots.Musk also asserted that his decision to follow through on the deal at the original sales price provided a huge windfall for most Twitter shareholders.But Twitter's shares fell below $33, or about 40% below Musk's original purchase price, while the deal was hanging in limbo. That downturn cost shareholders who sold their stock during the uncertainty caused by what the lawsuit alleges was Musk's deceitful behavior."I can't control whether people sell their stock, but everyone who held the stock fared extremely well," Musk said.The plaintiffs argued that, as Tesla's stock price declined and buying Twitter became too expensive for Musk, he tweeted statements that drove down the stock price in the hopes he could renegotiate the deal for a lower price or get out of it altogether.
Musk's tweets, the plaintiffs' lawyer argued, were not some "innocent mistake" or a "stupid tweet" off the top of his head, but carefully calculated to drive down's Twitter's stock price.In closing arguments, Mark Molumphy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, asked jurors to hold Musk accountable and compensate thousands of investors who lost money because of tweets Musk sent, including one from May 13, 2022, that said the deal was "on hold.""He knew what he was doing," Molumphy said.Musk's lawyers motioned for a mistrial several times during the contentious trial, contending that the billionaire Tesla CEO can't get a fair trial in San Francisco because of animosity toward him from the public.This isn't the first time that Musk has been dragged into court to defend himself against allegations of duping investors with his social media posts. Three years ago, Musk spent about eight hours testifying in a San Francisco federal trial about his plans to buy Tesla — the electric automaker that he still runs as a publicly traded company — for $420 per share in a proposed 2018 deal that never materialized. A nine-member jury absolved Musk of wrongdoing in that case.
boring
>>1499174How do we shut you off, elonbot
a fraud
It doesn't matter. He makes nearly all of his money from Space X government contracts. He's robbing the treasury blind because rich people launder money through his business.
>>1499162Should be a 200 billion dollar fine if you wanted it to actually punish him. Total slap on the wrist penalty for a crime they would put you and me under the jail for.To put it in perspective for Musk's wealth, 2.1 billion dollar fine is about the price of a speeding ticket.
i hope all 1st world countries eat nukes
>>1499177All rich people are swindlers
>>1499178What you say is true however; this will further damage his reputation amongst the general public which may lead to fewer people buying and using his products and services, so it will affect him more than the $2.1b
>>1499185He can't really get more damaged in the publics eyes. Both political parties see him as a shithead by now and everyone non-political finds him incredibly fucking annoying.I will admit a damaged rep among shareholders might be bad but they literally suck his cock at all times even as he misses deadline after deadline and breaks promise after promise.
>>1499177OK well, here's how we fix that.1. Raise taxes2. Funnel more money to billionairesYou're welcome.
>>1499196I'm sorry we can't just pull another COVID pandemic to justify bankrupting small businesss and giving big pharma record profits
>>1499191About the only people who still like him seem to be /biz/bros.
>>1499198lol the Trump economic policies are doing that already, just instead of big pharma it's Trump's billionaire buddies. Like I'm not even joking. Trump's tariffs alone have done economic damage almost on par with the pandemic just from being so poorly thought out and implemented.
>>1499200+/pol
>>1499162Nothing will happen except OP seething and coping when going back to /r/eddit
>>1499196You mean>Nationalize Space X>Have the share holders eat musk aliveSeriously, we should just nationalize everything, but also rewrite the laws where if you're caught skimming money or being corrupt, you're executed, but also to fuck over anyone who's religious, your organs are harvested to give to people who need donors too.
>>1499239>CommunismNo
>>1499198What? Why not? Democrats will believe anything, and unleash retarded communist protesters to support it while late night comedy shows make you feel bad for thinking it's a scam.I think we can do it.
>>1499239Nah, lets not. Can we have a creative, non-commie-tard solution?>I can't even thinkWe know, that's why you want to nationalize everything. Why can't NASA compete? WTF?
>>1499239>Seriously, we should just nationalize everything,No,>but also rewrite the laws where if you're caught skimming money or being corrupt, you're executed, Yes please>but also to fuck over anyone who's religious, your organs are harvested to give to people who need donors too.OK, this attacks the right religions so, sure. Christians will mostly willingly donate their organs.
>>1499247>>1499343>>1499345>Corporate bootlickers spotted All the more reason to do it is to make you seethe.
>>1499349>Killing everyone to own imagined enemiesWow. Edgy.
>>1499351Parasites aren't imagined enemies
>>1499352The government is a parasite though. It literally is a leech.
>>1499357That can happen when the unintelligent vote leeches into the government
>>1499358Which is what you're advocating for.
>>1499359When did i advocate for trump?
>>1499162>if two tweets and comments Musk made on a podcast in May 2022 amounted to him intentionally defrauding Twitter shareholders, who sold their shares based on Musk's statements.They were really really reaching with this case. They couldn't actually do anything to him or show any evidence.
>>1499233>Trump's tariffs alone have done economic damage almost on par with the pandemicGive actual and specific examples of this without changing the topic, ad homs, and deflecting
>>1499372can you count to 2 trillion
>>1499349>Goverment boot licker calling those who don't want to lick the boot a boot lickerYou deserve to be thrown out of a helicopter
>>1499374what's a goverment
>>1499373So about what we gave to Ukraine?
>>1499377No, not even close.
>>1499162Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it? pussies.
>>1499239I mean we're already installing cameras everywhere, having verified IDs to use computers and basic infrastructure, what is the difference between us and China otehr than the fact our public infrastructure is way fucking worse? Because we give more to Israel? We're a shitty, gay version of China that has soft-communism but only for billionaires.
>>1499239We should nationalize your mom.
>>1499384To be fair, it's the same with China. Everyone else works 72 hours a week.This tends to happen in communist countries where the workers are enslaved to the government, a feature of communism.
>>1499386Really what has happened is all of our billionaires, managers, and politicians saw china and thought "Wait, we can do that?" and are now trying to turn the west into China as fast as possible.
>>1499388You kvetch about billionaires in every thread. Your imaginary boogieman doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Explain how these billionaires are hurting anyone when their wealth is tied to stock in businesses. Democrats were sucking Space X's dick when Musk was still le genius reddit man
>>1499389>Explain how these billionaires are hurting anyone when their wealth is tied to stock in businesses.We are literally watching them openly corrupt politics, dismantle every safety net and regulation to stop them from treating the commonfolk like slaves, and take complete control of the nation exclusively to serve their own greed. AND they're all fucking kids while they do all that.
>>1499389>You kvetch about billionaires in every thread.This is a thread about a billionaire you gormless retard. Or do you not think of him that way because you worship him?
>>1499389>enter thread about billionaires >WHY ARE YOU KVETCHING ABOUT BILLIONAIRES?! Oh my god, I entered a thread full of things I'm triggered by, and now I'm triggered, how will musk save me????????????????????????
>>1499388Indeed. If the commies don't get us, the politicians, corporations and their lobbyists will.
