Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 31, 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

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×