SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2026, 08:15 PDT
- An eight-member jury in San Francisco is now deciding if Elon Musk misled former Twitter shareholders in 2022 with statements regarding his $44 billion buyout and the prevalence of fake accounts on the site.
- The jury wrapped up Tuesday after hearing closing arguments but left without reaching a verdict, a court officer said. They’ll return Wednesday.
- Plaintiffs allege Musk deliberately drove down Twitter’s share price to negotiate a cheaper deal, while Musk maintains he was genuinely worried about bots.
Jurors in San Francisco are weighing accusations that Elon Musk misled former Twitter shareholders with his claim in 2022 that the buyout was “temporarily on hold,” while also questioning Twitter’s figures on fake or spam accounts—bots, as they’re known. After hearing closing arguments, the panel started deliberations on Tuesday but left for the day without reaching a decision. Reuters
The stakes for Musk run high—damages could hit the billions, and the jury now weighs whether one of his most notorious market-moving tweets veered from tough deal talk into outright securities fraud, amounting to misleading investors. According to Bloomberg Law, the verdict requires jurors to consider not just Musk’s May 13 tweet, but also a later post and remarks on the “All-In” podcast. They’ll determine how much, if any, of Twitter’s stock decline up to Oct. 3, 2022, was artificially triggered. Bloomberg Law
Shareholders allege Musk was already aware, prior to inking the April 2022 merger agreement, that Twitter’s bot numbers might not be exact. Despite this, he used the bot issue as leverage to push for better terms or abandon the $54.20-per-share bid. According to Reuters, the class action includes those who sold Twitter shares between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Molumphy, during closing arguments, said Musk “trashed the company. Trashed the executives. And tanked the stock.” According to Bloomberg Law, Molumphy insisted Musk’s posts weren’t off-the-cuff but “intentional” and “deliberate.” Reuters
Michael Lifrak, representing Musk, countered, telling jurors the billionaire’s focus was on uncovering the extent of Twitter’s spam issue, not angling for a discount. “Two tweets and a podcast does not equal securities fraud,” Lifrak said, insisting plaintiffs failed to produce any evidence of fraud. Reuters
The core dispute in the trial was whether Twitter misrepresented the number of fake accounts to Musk and investors. Musk described his estimate—that bots accounted for at least 20% of users—as “saying the grass is green or the sky is blue.” On the other hand, ex-CFO Ned Segal countered in court, saying Twitter’s own figure was closer to 1% and told the judge its SEC disclosures weren’t false, according to AP. AP News
Even so, the plaintiffs’ job isn’t finished just by linking Musk’s remarks to stock movement. Lifrak pushed back, insisting to jurors there’s “zero evidence” Musk schemed to push the price lower. Judge Charles Breyer reminded the court that Musk, regardless of how some potential jurors felt about him, is entitled to a fair trial. Musk himself has asked for a mistrial, saying he’s already been denied one. AP News
Twitter—now called X—took Musk to court in Delaware, pushing him to finalize the deal at the agreed price. He complied in October 2022, then changed the platform’s name. But the dispute over fake accounts wasn’t a fresh battle: both AP and Al Jazeera had reported Twitter had previously warned regulators its bot estimates could be understated. Back in 2021, the company paid $809.5 million to resolve allegations it had inflated growth and monthly user numbers.
The trial kicked off March 2, just one of several legal battles facing Musk. On Tuesday, Reuters said he’s negotiating with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a separate suit involving how he revealed his early 2022 Twitter stake. Bloomberg Law, meanwhile, pointed out Musk already came out ahead in San Francisco, fending off shareholder claims tied to his 2018 Tesla “funding secured” tweet. Reuters
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