Jury Finds Elon Musk Liable for Misleading Twitter Investors in $44bn Takeover Saga

A federal jury in San Francisco has found billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk liable for misleading Twitter shareholders during his controversial $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform.
The verdict, delivered after a three-week trial in a California federal court, centred on a series of tweets Musk posted in May 2022, which jurors ruled were false and deceptive.
According to the jury, the statements influenced market behaviour at a critical stage of the deal, contributing to fluctuations in Twitter’s share price as uncertainty grew over Musk’s commitment to completing the acquisition.
The lawsuit was initiated by investor Giuseppe Pampena on behalf of shareholders who sold their stock between mid-May and early October 2022 — a period marked by doubts over the deal’s final outcome.
Jurors held that Musk’s comments violated U.S. securities laws that prohibit misleading statements capable of affecting stock prices. Legal representatives for the plaintiffs estimate potential damages at about $2.6 billion, exposing the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to significant financial liability if upheld.
Plaintiffs argued that Musk’s tweets were strategically aimed at driving down Twitter’s valuation to either renegotiate the purchase price or withdraw from the agreement.
Despite initial attempts to back out, Musk completed the acquisition in October 2022 following legal pressure from Twitter, later rebranding the platform as X.
Musk’s legal team has since rejected the ruling, describing it as a temporary setback and confirming plans to appeal.
The decision marks a rare courtroom loss for Musk, who has previously secured victories in high-profile legal battles, including a separate defamation case in Texas and a similar shareholder lawsuit in 2023 linked to his 2018 tweets about taking Tesla private.