Elon Musk was denied a bid to move or put off a trial regarding a misleading 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private on Friday, according to a report from CBS News.
Federal U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled in a San Francisco hearing that jury selection for the trial will still happen as planned on Tuesday, after Musk’s legal team requested the trial be moved to Texas last week.
Musk’s attorneys argued that negative coverage of the billionaire CEO has already ruined the San Francisco Bay Area’s jury pool available for the trial.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
Chen responded by expressing confidence in the ability to draw impartial jurors from the area, even pointing out that a jury was selected effectively for the high-profile trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who is now serving a more than 11-year sentence for investor fraud and conspiracy.
Musk’s trial centers around a civil lawsuit lodged by Tesla shareholders after they alleged being tricked by a tweet on August 7, 2018, in which Musk said he had secured funding to take the automaker private.
Chen ruled that Musk’s tweet was false already, so the jury will determine whether it was reckless of the CEO to post such claims as well as whether it caused financial harm to shareholders.
Tesla’s shares are currently worth nearly six times the amount they were at the time of the tweet when accounting for its two stock splits.
The trial set to begin tomorrow is slated to continue through February 1, 2023, and may see Musk’s brother Kimbal take the stand as a potential witness.
