Tesla CEO Elon Musk wins court case over ‘buyout’ comments on Twitter
Elon Musk has won a lawsuit that could have cost him billions of dollars, and it was all over a couple of comments on social media.
A US court has ruled Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not liable for comments he made on social media platform Twitter – which some investors alleged were misleading.
In August 2018, Mr Musk posted on Twitter that Tesla – a publicly-traded company – was about to be bought out and taken private, and that funding had been "secured".
While he says he believed a deal was imminent with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the plan never eventuated.
Tesla stock surged during a 10-day rally, with plaintiffs claiming his 2018 posts on Twitter – a social media platform Mr Musk now owns – had cost them billions of dollars.
“I had no ill motive,” Mr Musk testified. “My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders.”
According to news outlet Reuters, a jury unanimously came to the conclusion that Mr Musk was not liable, agreeing with his defence that he had chosen his words poorly rather than deliberately engaging in fraud.
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