US judge tosses out Musk’s bid to void Twitter fraud verdict

A U.S. federal judge has denied Elon Musk's efforts to void a jury's decision that found him liable for defrauding Twitter investors. The verdict, reached in March, determined that Musk, the owner of the social media platform now known as X, intentionally manipulated the company's stock price after agreeing to a $44 billion takeover.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco rejected Musk's motion to decertify the class of investors and granted the investors' request for prejudgment interest. However, the judge did find Musk not liable for one of the challenged tweets, distinguishing it from others that contributed to the verdict.

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Even if the speaker has a change of heart or a momentary regret about a transaction, such qualms do not justify lying to the investing public.

The jury had concluded that Musk misled investors through tweets questioning the prevalence of fake and spam accounts, commonly known as bots, on Twitter. Specifically, tweets from May 2022 suggested the takeover was "on hold" due to bot concerns and that the percentage of bots could be significantly higher than the reported figure, potentially exceeding 20 percent. Investors argued this was a tactic to renegotiate the deal or withdraw from it entirely.

Judge Breyer found "substantial evidence of falsity" in Musk's May 13 tweet, stating that a jury could reasonably conclude Musk used the bot issue as a pretext to exit the existing deal. The investors' legal team estimated potential damages could reach approximately $2.6 billion following the verdict. Lawyers for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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A jury could conclude that Musk had a motive to get out of the existing deal and used bots as a pretext to do so.