A jury just delivered a stunning verdict against Elon Musk, finding that he misled Twitter’s shareholders and drove down the company’s stock price right before his massive $44 billion acquisition back in 2022, as reported by The Hill. This is a pretty wild development for Musk, who’s been embroiled in legal battles over X for a while now.
The San Francisco jury specifically looked at two tweets and some comments Musk made on a podcast to determine if he deliberately defrauded shareholders and intentionally tanked Twitter’s stock. They concluded that the two tweets were indeed false and misleading, which is a big deal. However, they didn’t hold him liable for the podcast comments. Interestingly, the jury also dismissed the investors’ claim that Musk’s actions amounted to a grand scheme, narrowing the focus to those specific misleading tweets.
Four of the shareholders originally sued Musk in October 2022. They argued that they suffered major financial losses because of Musk’s public comments about spam bot accounts on Twitter, which we all know as X now. Their lawyers shared on Friday that this verdict could force Musk to pay former shareholders around $2.5 billion.
Musk’s legal team, however, isn’t throwing in the towel
One of the attorneys for the investors, Joseph Cotchett, spoke out, emphasizing the significance of this ruling. “This is a great example of what you cannot do to the average investor –– people that have 401ks, kids, pension funds, teachers, firemen, nurses,” Cotchett explained. “That’s what this case was all about. This was not about Musk. It was about the whole operation.” Musk’s legal team quickly stated that they “look forward to vindication on appeal,” describing the jury’s verdict as just a “bump in the road.”
This isn’t the first time Musk has faced legal challenges related to his X takeover. Back in April 2022, Twitter shareholders sued him, claiming he delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company. Musk’s lawyers argued in July 2024 that the delay was simply an error, but it definitely added to the acquisition drama. Following his purchase, Musk became X’s largest shareholder, holding a 9.2 percent ownership stake.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been investigating Musk’s purchase of X, looking into whether any federal security laws were violated. Initially, the tech billionaire agreed to testify, but he later tried to get the case dismissed. His lawyers contended that “no harm” was done by the delay in disclosing his shares.
The SEC wasn’t convinced, though. They sued Musk in January 2025, alleging that he withheld information that allowed him to underpay for shares after his financial beneficial ownership report was due. Musk even tried to get that particular case moved out of Washington, D.C., but a federal judge denied his request.
Published: Mar 23, 2026 06:00 pm