Elon Musk is free of accusations of confusing investors
LOS ANGELES: Tesla founder Elon Musk has been cleared of wrongdoing following allegedly “misleading” statements on his Twitter account in August 2018.
The controversial tycoon allegedly fabricated statements about “guaranteed financing” to make the carmaker his own.
Musk is facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of Tesla shareholders who claim his tweet dated August 2018 misled them.
However, the proposed purchase of US$72 billion (RM306.5 million) never materialized.
In a trial involving nine jurors, Musk could be charged billions of dollars in damages if found guilty.
Musk, who asked for the trial to be moved to Texas where the Tesla company is based, was apparently happy with the decision.
“Thankfully, the wisdom of the people has been listened to.
“I greatly appreciate the unanimous decision of the jury that found me not guilty in the case of private acquisition of the Tesla 420,” he wrote on Twitter.
The focus of the lawsuit is Musk’s tweet on August 7, 2018: “I’m considering taking Tesla private for US$420 million. Funding guaranteed.”
The plaintiff also argued that Musk had lied when he tweeted that “investor support was confirmed”.
The share price jumped after the tweet was uploaded, but then fell in the days after the deal appeared unlikely to go through.
It caused investors to lose up to US$12 billion (RM51.1 billion).
