London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Elon Musk appears in court to defend Tesla buyout tweets

Elon Musk appears in court to defend Tesla buyout tweets

The billionaire business mogul, who has since bought Twitter, caused a stir on the social media platform in 2018 when he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private.
Elon Musk has appeared in court to refute allegations that Tesla shareholders were defrauded out of billions of dollars by his tweets.

The company's chief executive wrote in 2018 that he had "secured" funding to take the electric carmaker private and later that investor backing was "confirmed", causing shares to soar and then fall.

Less than three weeks later, Musk backtracked on the plan.

Investors who bought or sold stock in the days after the tweets are seeking unspecified damages, but have claimed Musk's tweets cost them "billions".

The trial heard that Musk's social media admission led to a $40m (£32m) settlement with securities regulators, as well as a class-action lawsuit alleging he misled investors, and he was forced to step down as company chairman.

The 51-year-old billionaire, who has been running Twitter since he purchased the platform for $44bn in October, attended court for around half an hour on Friday to deliver sworn testimony before a nine-person jury and a room packed with reporters and other spectators.

The trial was then adjourned for the weekend, with Musk being told to return on Monday to answer more questions.

The judge, Edward Chen, previously denied a request by Musk to have the case moved to Texas, with the billionaire expressing concern that potential jurors in California would be biased against him.

In his initial address to the courtroom, the business mogul defended his prolific tweeting as "the most democratic way" to distribute information even while acknowledging Twitter's 240-character limit that can make it challenging to be as clear as possible.

Musk said: "I think you can absolutely be truthful [on Twitter].

"But can you be comprehensive? Of course not."

When it emerged that the funding was not in place to take Tesla private, Musk stepped down as chairman while remaining its chief executive as part of the Securities and Exchange Commission settlement, without acknowledging any wrongdoing.

The jury focused intently on the billionaire, who was wearing a dark suit and tie, as he answered questions by Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer representing Tesla shareholders.

'Level of pain... was excruciating'

When asked about the challenges that Tesla faced in 2018, he described spending many nights sleeping at the carmaker's California factory as he tried to keep the company afloat.

"The sheer level of pain to make Tesla successful during that 2017, 2018 period was excruciating," he told the court.

The trial over Musk's Tesla tweets comes at a time when he has been focusing on Twitter while also serving as the carmaker's CEO and also remaining deeply involved in SpaceX, the rocket ship company he founded.

His Twitter takeover has proven unpopular among Tesla's current stockholders, who are concerned he has been paying less attention to the carmaker at a time of intensifying competition - which contributed to a 65% decline in Tesla's stock last year that wiped out more than $700bn (£565bn) in shareholder wealth.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×