Elon Musk has testified that he simply tweets “what’s on my mind” while defending himself in a trial against allegations of manipulating Twitter’s stock price. The claims arise from Musk’s social media activity leading up to his $US44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, which he later renamed X. Shareholders allege that Musk engaged in a fraudulent effort to devalue the company’s stock to secure a more favourable buyout price.
In San Francisco federal court, Musk acknowledged that his tweets might affect the market. However, he also characterised the stock market as “manic depressive” and prone to fluctuations. He told the jury that “people tend to read too much into things that I do,” maintaining that he merely expresses his thoughts and the market reacts accordingly.
Musk spent months publicly criticising Twitter’s business practices and even threatened to abandon the acquisition before eventually finalising the deal. This behaviour is central to the shareholders’ claims that he deliberately drove down the stock price. The trial is ongoing, with the court yet to reach a verdict regarding the allegations against Musk.
