Musk Gets No-Fraud Jury Verdict Upheld in Suit Over Tesla Tweets
Jury Finds That Musk's Tweets About Taking Tesla Private Were Not Misleading
Elon Musk has won a major victory in a securities fraud lawsuit over tweets he made in 2018 about taking Tesla private.
A federal jury in San Francisco ruled on Friday that Musk's tweets were not misleading and did not cause investors to lose money.
The lawsuit was brought by investors who claimed that Musk's tweets artificially inflated the price of Tesla stock.
In his tweets, Musk said that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
However, it was later revealed that Musk did not have the funding secured and that the tweets were misleading.
The jury found that Musk's tweets were not material, meaning that they did not have a significant impact on the price of Tesla stock.
The jury also found that Musk did not act with reckless disregard for the truth when he made the tweets.
The verdict is a major victory for Musk and Tesla.
It is also a setback for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had accused Musk of fraud.
The SEC had settled with Musk in 2018, requiring him to step down as Tesla's chairman for three years and pay a $20 million fine.
However, the SEC did not pursue criminal charges against Musk.
The jury's verdict is likely to make it more difficult for the SEC to bring future cases against Musk.
It is also likely to embolden Musk to make more controversial statements on Twitter.
