London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 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
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×