A federal judge in San Francisco has shut down Elon Musk’s attempt to undo a jury verdict that found him liable for misleading Twitter investors. The ruling keeps Musk on the hook for what could be one of the largest securities fraud damage awards in recent memory.
Judge Charles R. Breyer rejected Musk’s post-trial motions during a June 18 hearing, expressing clear skepticism toward the arguments for overturning or retrying the case. Plaintiffs’ lawyers have estimated damages in the range of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion, stemming from the impact Musk’s statements had on Twitter’s stock price during the chaotic acquisition saga.
Two tweets, billions in damages
The whole case traces back to May 2022, when Musk fired off two tweets that a jury later determined were materially misleading. In those posts, he claimed the Twitter deal was “on hold” and suggested the transaction required additional financial verification from the company regarding its bot and spam account disclosures.
Musk had already signed a binding agreement to acquire Twitter for $44 billion in April 2022. The deal wasn’t actually on hold in any legally meaningful sense. But those tweets sent Twitter’s stock price tumbling, and shareholders took the hit.
