Elon Musk found liable for misleading Twitter investors. A San Francisco jury determined the Tesla CEO deliberately drove down Twitter's stock price ahead of his $44 billion 2022 acquisition through misleading tweets and podcast comments. While absolving him of scheming charges, jurors found him liable for fraud on two specific tweets, including one stating the deal was "temporarily on hold." The verdict awards shareholders approximately $2.1 billion in stock damages plus $500 million in options. Musk's legal team plans to appeal, citing previous case victories. This civil ruling reinforces that even wealthy executives must comply with securities laws and investor protection regulations governing public markets.
