Elon Musk to take stand in Twitter shareholder trial accusing him of deflating stock before purchase
#Elon Musk#Twitter trial#Stock manipulation#False statements#$44 billion acquisition#Fake accounts#Shareholder lawsuit#Tesla CEO
📌 Key Takeaways
Elon Musk faces trial for allegedly making false statements that depressed Twitter's stock price
Musk claimed the deal was on hold due to fake accounts, though the lawsuit states this was false
Twitter's stock dropped 32% from Musk's offer price before he completed the acquisition
This is not the first time Musk has faced similar allegations (previous Tesla case)
📖 Full Retelling
Elon Musk is expected to take the stand in a shareholder trial on Wednesday in San Francisco, where he's accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitter's stock price before he bought the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022. The lawsuit, filed in October 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, represents shareholders who sold their stock between May 13 and Oct 4, 2022, just weeks before Musk's purchase of Twitter was finalized. The legal action claims Musk violated federal securities laws by making false, public statements that "were carefully calculated to drive down the price of Twitter stock." After reaching a deal to buy Twitter in April 2022, Musk declared his plan "temporarily on hold" on May 13, citing the need to determine the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform, which caused Twitter's stock to plummet. Days later, he tweeted that the deal "cannot go forward" and claimed almost 20% of Twitter accounts were "fake," despite waiving due diligence for his "take it or leave it" offer. By July 8, when Musk tweeted he was abandoning the deal, Twitter's stock had closed at $36.81, 32% below his offer price of $54.20 per share. The lawsuit specifically challenges his May 13 tweet about the deal being "temporarily on hold," stating it was false because Twitter never agreed to pause the acquisition and there was no provision in their merger agreement allowing such a hold. After initially suing to force Musk to complete the deal, Twitter eventually accepted his original $44 billion offer in October 2022, which closed later that month. Following the acquisition, Musk significantly restructured the company, reducing its workforce, altering content moderation policies, and ultimately rebranding Twitter as X in July 2023.
🏷️ Themes
Legal, Corporate Governance, Social Media, Business Ethics
Elon Reeve Musk ( EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, and xAI. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of February 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be around US$852 billion.
Born into a wealt...
A false statement, also known as a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a statement that is false or does not align with reality. This concept spans various fields, including communication, law, linguistics, and philosophy. It is considered a fundamental issue in human discourse.
Deliberate attempt to interfere with and subvert the free market
In economics and finance, market manipulation occurs when someone intentionally alters the supply or demand of a security to influence its price. This can involve spreading misleading information, executing misleading trades, or manipulating quotes and prices.
Market manipulation is prohibited in mo...
Elon Musk to take stand in Twitter shareholder trial accusing him of deflating stock before purchase Elon Musk is expected to take the stand in a shareholder trial Wednesday in San Francisco, where he’s accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitter’s stock price before he bought the social media platform for $44 billion in ... By BARBARA ORTUTAY AND MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP technology writers March 3, 2026, 8:36 PM SAN FRANCISCO -- Elon Musk is expected to take the stand in a shareholder trial on Wednesday in San Francisco, where he's accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitter's stock price before he bought the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022. The lawsuit was filed in October 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022, a few weeks before Musk's purchase of Twitter was finalized. It claims Musk violated federal securities laws by making false, public statements that “were carefully calculated to drive down the price of Twitter stock.” The billionaire Tesla CEO reached a deal to buy Twitter and take it private in April 2022. On May 13, however, he declared his plan “temporarily on hold” and said he needs to pinpoint the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter's stock tumbled as a result. A few days later, he tweeted that the deal “cannot go forward” and claimed that almost 20% of Twitter accounts were “fake,” according to the lawsuit. Musk's May 13 tweet — “Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users” — was “false because the buyout was not, in fact, ‘temporarily on hold,’” the lawsuit says. That's because Twitter did not agree to put the deal on hold, and there was nothing in the merger agreement the two parties signed that allowed Musk to put it on hold, according to the lawsuit...
