California jurors hand win to investors who sued billionaire saying he publicly disparaged social media platform in 2022
A California jury has ruled that Elon Musk is responsible for Twitter investors’ stock plummeting when he sought to buy the social media platform for $44bn in 2022. Jurors handed the win to a group of investors who sued the billionaire saying he publicly disparaged the company with the aim of bringing down Twitter’s stock price to get a better bargain.
The trial, which began earlier this month in federal court in San Francisco, focused on whether Musk intended to move the market with his comments. During a six-month period in 2022, after his offer to buy Twitter, he posted constantly to his millions of followers that the social network was rife with bots that produced spam and created fake accounts.
Musk did eventually buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, his original offer, totaling around $44bn. He later changed the name of the company to X.
The verdict is an unusual loss for Musk, who repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Throughout the trial, his lawyers maintained he was voicing legitimate concerns and had no intention to manipulate the stock price. Musk testified during trial that he didn’t realize his attacks on the company would lower the company’s stock price or hurt its investors.
