SAN FRANCISCO — A jury ruled Friday that Elon Musk had not deceived investors in a 2018 tweet about a proposed deal for electric-car maker Tesla that was quickly debunked and sparked controversy. Doubts over whether the billionaire misled investors.
After a three-week trial, the nine-person jury reached its verdict after less than two hours of deliberation. It represented a major defense for Musk, who spent about eight hours on the witness stand defending his motives for his August 2018 tweet at the center of the trial.
Musk, 51, did not attend the brief reading of the verdict, but his surprise closing statement earlier Friday painted a very different portrait of him.
Not long after the verdict was handed down, Musk took to Twitter — the bullying pulpit he now owns — to celebrate.
“Thankfully, the wisdom of the people prevailed!” Musk said tweets.
Former federal prosecutor Michael Freedman, now in private practice, said Musk’s decision to step aside from other responsibilities to attend closing arguments, even though he didn’t have to, may have had an impact on jurors representing celebrities and corporate executives’ law firms.
“It shows that he has a presence,” Friedman said.
Nicholas Porritt, an attorney representing disgruntled Tesla investors, said he was disappointed after he urged jurors in closing arguments to scold Musk for the potential for “anarchy” over his reckless actions.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, acknowledged that the 2018 tweet was “technically inaccurate.” But he told jurors, “Just because it’s a bad tweet, doesn’t mean it’s fraudulent.
“I don’t think that’s the behavior we expect from a large public company,” said a frustrated Porritt after discussing the verdict with several jurors who had gathered to speak with him. “People can draw their own conclusions based on what they see.”
During discussions with Porritt, jurors told them they found Musk’s testimony credible that he believed he raised money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund without a written commitment. They also cast doubt on whether Musk’s tweets were the only reason for the volatility in Tesla’s stock price during the 10-day period in August 2018 implicated in the case.
The trial sees Tesla investors filing a class-action lawsuit against Musk on behalf of Musk, the chief executive of the electric automaker and the Twitter service he bought for $44 billion a few months ago.
On August 7, 2018, shortly before boarding his private jet, Musk tweeted that he has funds Taking Tesla private, even though it turns out he doesn’t have a firm commitment to a deal that needs $20 billion to $70 billion to close.A few hours later, Musk sent another tweet Indicates that a deal is imminent.
Musk sat calmly in the courtroom during his closing arguments earlier Friday as he was vilified as both a wealthy and reckless narcissist and a visionary looking for “little people.”
Musk’s integrity, part of the fortune that has made him one of the world’s richest men, is at stake in the trial. He could be saddled with billions of dollars in damages if a jury finds him liable for 2018 tweets that the judge presiding over the trial found to be lies.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen last year left a jury to decide whether Musk tweeted recklessly and acted in a way that hurt Tesla shareholders.
“It’s probably not that difficult for a jury,” Friedman said, “because it’s kind of like a yes or no vote.”
Musk sat calmly in the courtroom during his closing arguments earlier Friday as he was vilified as both a wealthy and reckless narcissist and a visionary looking for “little people.”
During the hour-long speech, Poritt implored jurors to condemn Musk for “loose ties to the facts.”
“Our society is rule-based,” Poritt said. “We need rules to save us from anarchy. Rules should apply to Elon Musk like everyone else.”
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, acknowledged that the 2018 tweet was “technically inaccurate.” But he told jurors, “Just because it’s a bad tweet, doesn’t mean it’s fraudulent.”
During his roughly eight-hour court appearance early in the trial, Musk insisted he believed he had raised money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take Tesla private eight years after it became a public company. He defended his original tweet in August 2018, saying it was well-intentioned and aimed at making sure all Tesla investors knew the automaker might be winding down its operations as a public company.
“I meant no harm,” Musk testified. “My intention is to do the right thing for all shareholders.”
Spiro echoed that theme in his closing arguments.
“Instead of taking more power for himself, he’s trying to involve retail shareholders, couples and little people,” Spiro said.
Porritt, meanwhile, scoffed at the notion that Musk made a firm commitment after a 45-minute meeting with Saudi Arabian wealth fund chief Yasir al-Rumayyan on July 31, 2018, because there was no paperwork.
During his 90-minute speech, Spiro highlighted Musk’s track record of helping start and run a range of companies, including digital payments pioneer PayPal and rocket ship maker SpaceX, as well as Tesla. The Austin, Texas-based automaker is now worth nearly $600 billion, even though its shares fell sharply last year amid concerns that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter would distract him from Tesla.
Recalling Musk’s origins as a South African immigrant who came to Silicon Valley to create a revolutionary technology company, Spiro described his clients as “people who believed the impossible could be possible.”