Elon Musk Tells Jury Investors “read Too Much” Into His Social Media Posts In Market‑manipulation Trial

Elon Musk tells jury investors “read too much” into his social media posts in market‑manipulation trial San Francisco, United States Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, now owner of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, told a jury on Wednesday that investors tend to “read too much” into his social media posts, rejecting claims that he deliberately tried to manipulate markets with his public messages during the tumultuous run‑up to his 2022 purchase of the company. Musk was on the witness stand in a federal civil trial in San Francisco as part of a lawsuit brought by a group of investors who allege that his series of public statements before and after agreeing to buy Twitter now rebranded as X misled shareholders and caused financial losses.

Facing questions from lawyers representing the investors, Musk insisted his posts were expressions of his personal thoughts at the time and not calculated moves to influence Twitter’s stock price or pressure parties in the acquisition negotiations. He described some of his posts as “extremely literal” and maintained that he did not intend them to affect market perceptions or valuation of Twitter. Musk acknowledged that one tweet in which he said his takeover was temporarily “on hold” while he investigated issues such as spam and fake accounts might not have been his “wisest” but denied it was made to manipulate the market. The class‑action lawsuit was filed by shareholders who sold Twitter stock between May and October 2022, alleging that Musk’s public comments created uncertainty, drove down the share price, and led them to sell at a loss before the deal ultimately closed at the originally agreed price of $44 billion. Brian Belgrave, one of the investors bringing the case, testified that he sold thousands of Twitter shares in July 2022 after interpreting Musk’s remarks as signalling that the acquisition was in jeopardy even though Twitter executives privately insisted the transaction was still moving forward. Throughout his testimony, Musk portrayed his social media behaviour as candid rather than strategic, reiterating that his tweets reflect his private thoughts publicly and that the market’s reaction to his statements is unpredictable. The trial, which began earlier this week in US District Court for the Northern District of California, will explore whether Musk violated federal securities laws by making statements that investors relied on when making trading decisions or whether his comments fall within protected expression not intended to mislead. Although Musk has faced legal scrutiny over his social media posts before including a high‑profile case relating to his 2018 comments about taking Tesla private he has successfully defended himself in past trials.

In the current case, shareholders are seeking monetary damages, arguing that they were financially harmed by acting on Musk’s tweets. Musk’s defence lawyers counter that there is no evidence he intended to mislead and that markets cannot be reliably predicted based on his social media activity.

Judge Charles Breyer, who is presiding over the trial, briefly paused proceedings during Wednesday’s testimony as Musk and counsel sparred over questioning tactics. The case is expected to continue through much of March as both sides present their arguments.

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