Jury Hits SpaceX's Musk with $2.1B Verdict for Misleading Twitter Tweets

A San Francisco federal jury found Elon Musk liable Friday for misleading Twitter shareholders with two posts on his own platform in the months before his 2022 acquisition of the social media company. The jury awarded damages that plaintiffs' attorneys valued at approximately $2.1 billion.

The nine-person jury returned its verdict after nearly four days of deliberation, roughly three weeks after the civil trial began March 2 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Jurors found that Musk's May 13, 2022, tweet stating the $44 billion Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold" misled investors who sold shares during the resulting uncertainty. However, they absolved him of deliberately scheming to defraud them. A separate statement Musk made on a podcast was also cleared, with jurors finding it constituted opinion.

Treasure Coast residents who hold Tesla or X-related equity positions — or who trade individual stocks through brokerage accounts in Martin, St. Lucie, or Indian River counties — face direct exposure to any financial consequences stemming from the verdict. The ruling adds fresh legal uncertainty around Musk's personal financial standing at a moment when his estimated $814 billion net worth, largely tied to Tesla shares, is already subject to market volatility. Local financial advisers have flagged Tesla stock as a concentrated-risk holding for retail investors throughout the region.

The jury set per-share damages at between roughly $3 and $8 per day for the period Twitter's stock traded below Musk's original purchase price. At its lowest point during the deal's limbo, Twitter shares fell below $33 — approximately 40 percent below Musk's agreed acquisition price — costing shareholders who sold during that window.

"It's an important victory, not just for investors of Twitter, but for the public markets," said Joseph Cotchett, an attorney for the plaintiffs. "I think the jury's verdict sends a strong message that just because you're a rich and powerful person, you still have to obey the law, and no man is above the law."

Musk's attorneys declined to comment as they exited the courtroom. During trial, Musk testified that Twitter's leadership misrepresented the volume of fake accounts on the platform — a figure he used to justify attempting to exit the deal — and that shareholders who held through the acquisition ultimately "fared extremely well."

Musk's legal team filed multiple mistrial motions throughout proceedings, arguing their client could not receive a fair hearing in San Francisco. A judge denied those motions. The case now moves toward a potential post-verdict hearing on final damages calculations, the timing of which has not been publicly confirmed.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.