A federal judge in San Francisco has denied Elon Musk’s bid to overturn a jury verdict finding him liable for fraud in connection with his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022. US District Judge Charles Breyer refused to set aside the jury’s findings in most respects, according to multiple reports. The jury, which reached its decision in March, held that Musk’s May 2022 tweets improperly misled investors about whether Twitter was overrun by fake and spam accounts, often referred to as bots. Investors said the statements were intended to influence the stock price and push for renegotiation of the deal or for Musk to withdraw from the transaction.
Reports also indicate the judge addressed additional legal requests. One outcome described by outlets is a partial adjustment related to the legal effect of a specific tweet sent on May 17, 2022. The New York Post also reports that Breyer denied a request to decertify the investor class and granted the investors’ request for prejudgment interest. Another outlet said investor attorneys estimate potential damages of about $2.6 billion. The motion to void the verdict is therefore rejected, leaving the jury ruling in place with limited changes described by some sources.
