Tag: liable
Elon Musk found not liable in class action brought by Tesla investors
: Tesla’s Elon Musk found not liable in ‘funding secured’ trial
Jury rules Elon Musk is not liable for shareholder losses after ‘funding secured’ tweets
Elon Musk is off the hook for his 2018 tweets claiming he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private for $420 a share. A jury found that Musk was not liable for Tesla investors’ losses, following a weeks-long trial in San Francisco.
The verdict is a major victory for Musk, who could have been liable for billions of dollars in damages. Musk had testified in federal court that just because he tweets something, it “does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly.” He also argued that he could have used his shares of SpaceX to fund the deal.
The shareholders who brought the class action suit had argued that Musk’s statements about funding were false, and that they lost vast amounts of money due to stock fluctuations in the aftermath of Musk’s tweets. But while the judge in the case concluded that the tweets were “objectively false and reckless,” the jury didn’t find that Musk had deliberately misled the public.
While the verdict ends the years-long saga of the “funding secured” tweets, the posts weren’t entirely without consequences for Musk. He settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018, and stepped down from his role as Tesla board chair as a condition of the settlement. Musk has long decried the SEC settlement and has said he was “forced to admit I lied to save Tesla’s life.”
In a statement to Bloomberg following the verdict, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, said “the jury got it right.” Musk also weighed in — naturally, via tweet — saying he was “deeply appreciative.”
Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed!
I am deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2023
Update 2/3 7:19 PM ET: Added Elon Musk’s tweet about the verdict.
Elon Musk, Tesla found not liable in ‘funding secured’ tweet lawsuit
Elon Musk was found not liable in a class-action securities fraud trial that centered on the Tesla CEO’s now infamous “funding secured” tweet. After less than 90 minutes of deliberation, a jury announced the verdict in the trial that kicked off three weeks ago in San Francisco. The outcome of the trial sent Tesla shares […]
Elon Musk, Tesla found not liable in ‘funding secured’ tweet lawsuit by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch
If Websites Were Liable for What Users Post, Would the Internet Even Work?
Last week, Joe Biden wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal calling for Congress to pass legislation that would regulate large tech companies. In the essay, titled, “Republicans and Democrats, Unite Against Big Tech Abuses,” he specifically rejoins Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications…
Sotera Health soars after jury finds Sterigenics unit not liable for woman’s cancer
Musk’s lawyer tells Twitter staff they won’t be liable if company violates FTC consent decree
Following a warning shot from the FTC to Twitter yesterday, TechCrunch has obtained an internal email sent by Elon Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, to all remaining employees — in which he seeks to calm staffers’ concerns by claiming that they do not have individual liability for upholding the requirements of the FTC consent decree. We’ve […]
Musk’s lawyer tells Twitter staff they won’t be liable if company violates FTC consent decree by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch