Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted he had funding to take Tesla private in 2018, though a judge recently ruled his since notorious “funding secured” tweet was actually inaccurate.
A court said that Musk’s 2018 tweet claiming he had secured funding to take Tesla private included “nothing concrete,” about Saudi Arabia’s funding, according to Reuters.
The decision, made by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco, is considered a victory for Tesla shareholders alleging that Musk used the tweet to inflate the automaker’s stock prices — ultimately causing billions of dollars in damages as a result of false and misleading statements.
Judge Denies Elon Musk Bid to End SEC Twitter Oversight https://t.co/k7jzr8IVI3
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) April 27, 2022
In the case, Judge Chen emphasized that talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were still in too early of talks for Musk’s tweet to make sense.
In the statement, Chen wrote, “There was nothing concrete about funding coming from the PIF. Rather, discussions between Tesla and the PIF were clearly at the preliminary stage.” Judge Chen continued, “No reasonable jury could find that Mr. Musk did not act recklessly given his clear knowledge of the discussions.”
The summary of the judgment was made on April 1 but was not made public until Tuesday. Musk’s lawyer has filed motions to reverse the court decision.
Although Musk claimed in February that the tweet had been “entirely truthful,” a judge ruled Musk’s claim over the 2018 tweet false last month.
