TL;DRUS District Judge Charles Breyer denied Elon Musk’s bid to overturn a March 2026 jury verdict finding he defrauded Twitter investors during his 2022 takeover, upholding the finding on his 13 May bot tweet while granting one narrow point on a 17 May tweet. Investors say damages could reach $2.6bn, and the judge also granted prejudgment interest.
A federal judge has refused to overturn a jury’s finding that Elon Musk defrauded Twitter investors during his $44bn takeover of the platform in 2022. US District Judge Charles Breyer denied Musk’s motion to set aside the verdict in most respects on Monday.
A San Francisco jury ruled in March that two of Musk’s May 2022 tweets about the deal and Twitter’s spam bot numbers were materially false or misleading. Investors say the resulting losses could support damages of up to $2.6bn.
“Buyer’s remorse is not an exception to the securities laws,” Breyer wrote, adding that the laws are “in their essence, about trust”. The judge found substantial evidence that Musk’s 13 May tweet, claiming the deal was on hold pending bot data, was literally untrue.
Breyer cited testimony from one of Musk’s own bankers, who said the tweet surprised her and that Musk never actually put the deal on hold. A jury could infer Musk had a motive to escape the deal and used bots as a pretext, the judge wrote.
