SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2026, 2:27 PM PDT
A San Francisco jury has decided Elon Musk misled Twitter investors amid his 2022 battle to acquire the company, a case tied to the $44 billion buyout he ultimately closed. Musk’s legal team plans to appeal, but according to shareholders’ attorney Francis Bottini, estimated damages land near $2.5 billion. 1
The decision raises the stakes for CEOs who post during ongoing deals, putting a finer point on legal risks tied to market-moving statements. Musk, for his part, remains locked in a separate battle with the SEC over the timing of his original Twitter stake disclosure. 2
Jurors pinned liability on Musk for two statements he made in May 2022, both casting doubt on Twitter’s reported bot numbers—fake or automated accounts, in other words. In one, he said the deal was “temporarily on hold” until Twitter could show bots made up less than 5% of users; in another, he floated that the actual number might top 20%. The jury cleared him on a podcast comment and tossed out a separate accusation alleging a larger plan to defraud investors. 1
Investor Giuseppe Pampena brought the class action for shareholders who sold Twitter shares from mid-May through early October 2022. The trial kicked off March 2 in San Francisco and lasted close to three weeks, featuring testimony from Musk, ex-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, and former CFO Ned Segal. 3
The case hinged on a U.S. securities rule prohibiting false or misleading statements that affect a stock’s price. Jurors determined Musk broke that rule with two public statements they deemed false or misleading. 3
Musk argued he had valid reasons for backing out. In court, he testified that Twitter misled regulators about the number of fake accounts on the platform. After Twitter filed suit in Delaware to enforce the deal, Musk dropped his attempt to exit. The acquisition closed in October 2022, and he soon rebranded Twitter as X. 4
Monte Mann, a business litigation attorney unconnected to the case, called the verdict “a clear message” for executives whose online comments have the power to move markets. According to Mann, social media amplifies both reach and velocity, letting a single post swing billions in value. 4
The fight isn’t finished yet. Musk’s legal team described the verdict as just “a bump in the road.” The jury didn’t go so far as to find a wider fraud scheme, and Musk’s track record has included wins against shareholder lawsuits before—most recently, the 2023 San Francisco trial tied to his 2018 Tesla “funding secured” tweets. 1
The verdict ramps up the legal pressure surrounding Musk’s 2022 Twitter acquisition. Back in February, a federal judge shot down Musk’s attempt to toss the SEC lawsuit, which claims he waited 11 days to disclose his more-than-5% Twitter stake. That window, according to the agency, let him snap up upwards of $500 million in Twitter stock before the news reached the market. The shareholder suit now heads for appeal, setting up a fresh battle over what Musk could ultimately be on the hook for—if anything. 2
