Elon Musk was cleared Friday by a federal jury over his “funding secured” 2018 tweet on taking Tesla private.
After the verdict, the billionaire’s first words on Twitter were: “Thank God.”
Elon Musk showed his appreciation for the jurors who cleared him after Tesla investors claimed that his 2018 “Funding Secured” tweet was intentionally meant to sway investors.
Thank God, the billionaire tweeted late Friday following the verdict by a nine-person federal jury in the civil trial. The wisdom of the people prevails! added the billionaire. I deeply appreciate the jury’s unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 Tech-Pvt case.
Elon Musk’s 2018 tweet, which prompted Tesla shareholders to launch a costly legal battle against him, read: “I’m considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Jurors were asked to decide whether Musk intentionally misled investors, as the deal did not go through.
During the trial, Elon Musk’s lawyers described a meeting the tech billionaire held with Yasser al-Rumayyan, an official of Saudi Arabia’s private investment fund, where Musk said al-Rumayyan brokered the deal to take Tesla private.
Elon Musk told jurors in January that he relied on al-Rumayyn’s verbal promises that led to his “funding secured” tweet about taking Tesla private. The investors’ attorney, Nicholas Porritt of Levy & Korsinski LLP, refuted Musk’s claims and argued that there would be some written record of conversations of that nature.
However, Elon Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, made closing arguments saying the Tesla founder was being portrayed as a “fire-breathing dragon” and sued for being a “bad tweeter”. could not be operated. Elon Musk and Spiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Elon Musk Power made outside normal business hours.
Content: Bussiness Insider❤️✌️