US Jury Finds Elon Musk Liable for Misleading Investors Before Twitter Acquisition in 2022, Potential Award Approaches $2.6 Billion

US Federal Jury Finds Elon Musk Liable for Misleading Twitter Shareholders

A California federal jury has found Elon Musk, the world's richest billionaire, liable for claims that he misled Twitter shareholders in an attempt to pull down the social media company's share price, allowing him to renegotiate or back out of a $44 billion deal in 2022. Despite the verdict, Musk was acquitted of charges that he was engaged in a "scheme" to defraud investors.

Twitter shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit against Musk, alleging that he intentionally misled them through two tweets and a podcast statement in May 2022, claiming that Twitter had too many fake accounts. The jury agreed that Musk's statements were intentionally done to defraud Twitter shareholders, who sold their shares based on his statements.

The jury found Musk responsible for two out of three statements challenged by Twitter shareholders. The statements in question included:

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• Twitter's purchase was "temporarily on hold" pending confirmation that bots represented less than 5% of users
• The percentage of bots could be "much" higher than 20%, and the takeover could not go forward unless Twitter's chief executive proved the percentage was less than 5%

Twitter investors are likely to be eligible for $2.6 billion in damages, according to Mark Molumphy, a lawyer for the investors. However, this amount is unlikely to significantly impact Elon Musk's net worth, which stood at $661.1 billion on Friday.

The jury awarded shareholders between $3 and $8 per stock per day as damages. Breaking down the verdict, the plaintiff's lawyers stated that the damages amount to approximately $2.1 billion in stock and another $500 million in options.

"This verdict sends a strong message that just because you're a rich and powerful person, you still have to obey the law, and no man is above the law," said Joseph Cotchett, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

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