Elon Musk Loses Bid to Overturn Twitter Investor Fraud Verdict in Federal Court
A federal judge has rejected Elon Musk’s bid to overturn most of a jury verdict finding that he defrauded Twitter investors during the fight over his 2022 purchase of the social media company.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco denied Musk’s request to set aside the verdict and refused to decertify the investor class, according to Reuters. The judge also granted investors prejudgment interest, keeping the case’s financial stakes alive. Investors have estimated damages could reach about $2.6 billion.
The lawsuit centers on Musk’s public statements about Twitter’s bot and spam account numbers after he agreed to buy the company for $44 billion. Investors argued that Musk misled the market by suggesting the deal was on hold and questioning Twitter’s account data while trying to renegotiate or exit the agreement.
Breyer did narrow the verdict in one respect. He found Musk was not liable for one challenged May 17 tweet because investors had not shown sufficient market impact tied to that statement. But the judge left the core finding in place involving Musk’s May 13 statement that the deal was temporarily on hold.
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Musk’s lawyers had also argued that jurors showed bias by using a $4.20 figure on a verdict form. Breyer rejected that claim as unsupported, noting the jury deliberated for days and sided with Musk on some issues.
The decision does not end the case. Musk can still appeal, and the damages process remains central. But for now, the ruling keeps the investor class intact and leaves Musk facing a potentially multibillion-dollar securities fraud judgment tied to the Twitter takeover.
Public reaction has remained focused on the size of the potential damages and Musk’s use of social media during market-moving corporate disputes. Reddit and LinkedIn posts about the verdict showed visible engagement, though social reaction should not be treated as evidence in the case.
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