Elon Musk's Tesla tweets controversy resurfaces, to face trial in US court
Hindustan TimesIt took only a couple of tweets to plunge Elon Musk into the morass of a securities fraud trial that could cost him billions of dollars from his rapidly diminishing fortune. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer is set to be the star witness at a jury trial that starts Tuesday in San Francisco federal court over his infamous tweets 4 1/2 years ago about a plan to take the electric-car maker private with “funding secured.” Lawyers for the shareholders will try to show jurors that Musk lied in the statement, and that it caused them deep losses from wild stock price swings over a 10-day period before the plan was abandoned. “He has a lot of money, and is apparently willing to take substantial risks with that money.” The trial comes as Musk’s wealth has dwindled from a peak of $340 billion in November 2021. Musk has insisted his short-lived plan to take Tesla private was solid based on discussions he had with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Musk might have believed in his ability to take Tesla private, even if he wasn’t across the finish line yet.