Musk Found Not Liable in Trial Over 2018 ’Funding Secured’ Tweets

By Staff, Agencies

A United States jury on Friday found that Elon Musk, the new Twitter owner and CEO of Tesla, was not liable for misleading investors when he tweeted in 2018 that he had secured funding to take the electric car company private.

The jury returned with a unanimous verdict roughly two hours after beginning deliberations. Musk was not present when the verdict was read, tweeting after that he was "deeply appreciative" of the jury's decision.

Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer for the investors, said, "We are disappointed with the verdict and are considering next steps." The plaintiffs had claimed billions in damages.

Tesla shareholders claimed Musk misled them when he tweeted on August 7, 2018, that he was considering taking the company private at $420 per share and had "funding secured." Likewise, they say Musk lied when he tweeted later that day that "investor support is confirmed."

During closing arguments, Porritt said Musk is not above the law and should be held liable. He said, according to Reuters, "This case ultimately is about whether rules that apply to everyone else should also apply to Elon Musk."

Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro countered that Musk's "funding secured" tweet was "technically inaccurate" but that investors only cared that Musk was considering a buyout. "The whole case is built on bad word choice," he said. "Who cares about bad word choice? Just because it's a bad tweet doesn't make it fraud."