SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2026, 16:00 PDT
- A federal jury in San Francisco decided Musk was liable for misleading Twitter investors with a pair of 2022 posts linked to the takeover battle.
- Jurors tossed out the broader allegation that he orchestrated an intentional scheme to defraud shareholders.
- Plaintiffs’ attorneys are saying the verdict may back damages that could reach into the billions.
A federal jury in San Francisco on Friday held Elon Musk liable for misleading Twitter investors during the turbulent 2022 takeover battle, concluding that two of Musk’s public remarks concerning the acquisition and fake accounts led shareholders astray. Still, the jury didn’t go as far as saying Musk orchestrated a larger scheme to defraud investors.
Musk just took an unusual loss in court—this time, after previously prevailing against investors over that “funding secured” tweet from 2018. Now, as he negotiates to wrap up a different SEC suit tied to his late disclosure of an early Twitter stake, both legal battles continue to spotlight the impact his filings and public statements had on the $44 billion deal. AP News
Former Twitter shareholders—now X—filed the class action, targeting trades between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022. Musk had already committed in April to the $54.20-a-share buyout. The suit claims he aimed to depress Twitter’s stock, calling out the company’s bot and spam account figures in public.
Jurors ruled Musk was liable for his May 13 tweet declaring the deal “temporarily on hold,” and for his May 17 statement that it “cannot go forward” unless Twitter’s CEO showed bots made up under 5% of users. However, they cleared him on comments from the May 16 “All-In” podcast. AP News
During the trial, Musk maintained that his worries about bots were genuine, insisting Twitter’s top executives misrepresented the company’s bot metrics. Investors countered that Musk simply wanted out of a deal he’d soured on, or at least to force new terms. Testimony came from former CEO Parag Agrawal and ex-CFO Ned Segal.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Molumphy argued in closing that Musk “trashed the company” and “tanked the stock.” Musk’s lawyer, Michael Lifrak, countered, “Two tweets and a podcast does not equal securities fraud.” Reuters
It’s still unclear how much Musk will end up paying. Lawyers for the plaintiffs put the potential damages in the billions after the verdict.
Even so, investors didn’t walk away with a full victory. Jurors tossed out the allegation that Musk had deliberately tried to mislead shareholders. Musk, for his part, testified that those who stayed in actually benefited, since he ended up buying at the original price after Twitter pushed the deal through in Delaware court. With the narrower verdict, his lawyers could have more leverage to challenge the eventual payout amount.
This decision diverges from the outcome Musk saw in a 2023 San Francisco trial regarding his 2018 tweet about having “funding secured” to take Tesla private. In that instance, jurors found in his favor. AP News
A ruling landed just days after Musk and the SEC said in a Washington court filing that they’re working on a “potential resolution” in the regulator’s suit accusing him of disclosing his first Twitter stake late. The SEC alleges Musk waited 11 days, giving him time to snap up over $500 million in shares at below-market prices and pocket about $150 million in savings—before anyone knew the size of his position. Reuters
