Crime & justice

US Court Denies Musk Bid to Overturn Twitter Verdict

Was this verdict a landmark win for securities law or a tainted judgment driven by bias?

Published JUL 7

US Court Denies Musk Bid to Overturn Twitter Verdict

Story

Above: SpaceX stock price displayed in a smartphone and Elon Reeve Musk's book in China on June 24. Image credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The Facts

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Monday rejected Elon Musk's bid to void a jury verdict finding he defrauded Twitter investors during his $44 billion takeover of the platform in 2022.
TNW
Newsmax
Breyer also denied Musk's motion to decertify the investor class and granted the investors' motion for prejudgment interest. Lawyers for the shareholders estimated damages could reach up to $2.6 billion.
Firstpost
Claims Journal
The case centered on two tweets Musk posted in 2022 questioning whether fake and spam accounts exceeded 5% of Twitter users. Investors argued the posts drove down Twitter's stock price.
The Washington Examiner
The Straits Times
Breyer found evidence that Musk's May 13, 2022, tweet — stating the deal was "temporarily on hold" pending bot data — was false, as Musk had already waived due diligence and agreed to buy Twitter.
Bloomberg Law
Valor International
The judge sided with Musk on one narrow point, ruling that his tweet four days later on May 17, 2022 lacked sufficient market impact to support a loss causation finding, a required element of securities fraud claims.
Al Jazeera
Devdiscourse
Breyer rejected Musk's claim that jurors mocked him by writing "$4.20" in blue ink on the verdict form, noting the jury deliberated for nearly four days and ruled in Musk's favor on several claims.
Claims Journal
New York Post

Sources Split

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RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Left narrative

A federal jury found Musk liable for materially misleading Twitter investors, with damages potentially topping $2.6 billion. Musk's tweets about spam bots were designed to tank Twitter's stock so he could back out of or renegotiate a deal that had gotten too expensive for him. No amount of wealth or influence puts anyone above securities law, and this verdict makes that crystal clear.

Hacking But Legal

Courthouse News Service

Right narrative

The verdict against Musk was tainted from the start — jurors wrote "$4.20" in bright blue ink on the damages form, mocking Musk's well-known association with the number. San Francisco's deep hostility toward Musk made seating an impartial jury nearly impossible, and even the judge acknowledged a different venue might have produced a different panel.