Elon Musk was depicted Wednesday as either a liar who callously jeopardized the savings of 鈥渞egular people鈥� or a well-intentioned visionary as attorneys delivered opening statements at a trial focused on a Tesla buyout that never happened.
Lawyers on opposing sides drew the starkly different portraits of Musk for a nine-person jury that will hear the three-week trial. The case is focused on two August 2018 tweets that the billionaire posted on
The tweets indicated that Musk had lined up the financing to take Tesla private at a time when the automaker鈥檚 stock was slumping amid production problems.
The prospect of a $72 billion buyout fueled a rally in the company鈥檚 stock price that abruptly ended a week later after it became apparent that he did not have the funding to pull off the deal after all. Tesla shareholders then sued him, saying that Tesla shares would not have swung so widely in value if he had not dangled the idea of buying the company for $420 per share.
Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer representing Glen Littleton and other Tesla shareholders in the class-action case, promptly vilified Musk as he addressed jurors.
鈥淲hy are we here?鈥� Porritt asked. 鈥淲e are here because Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive of Tesla, lied. His lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose millions and millions of dollars.鈥� He also asserted that Musk鈥檚 tweet also hurt pension funds and other organizations that owned Tesla stock at the time.
Musk鈥檚 lawyer, Alex Spiro, countered that the run-up in Tesla鈥檚 stock after the tweet mostly reflected investors鈥� belief in Musk鈥檚 ability to pull off stunning feats, including building the world鈥檚 largest electric automaker while also running SpaceX, a maker of rocket ships.
鈥淢r. Musk tries to do things that have never been done before. Everyone knows that,鈥� Spiro told the jury.
Spiro added that Musk had been in advanced talks with representatives from Saudi Arabia鈥檚 Public Investment Fund to take Tesla private.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 plan to tweet this,鈥� Spiro said of Musk鈥檚 at the heart of the trial. 鈥淚t was a split-second decision鈥� aimed at being as transparent as possible about the discussions with the Saudi fund about a potential deal.
After saying 鈥渇unding secured鈥� for the buyout, Musk followed up that suggested a deal was imminent.
Littleton, a 71-year-old investor from Kansas City, Missouri, was the first witness called to the stand. He said Musk鈥檚 claim about the financing alarmed him because he had purchased Tesla investments designed to reward him for his belief that the automaker鈥檚 stock would eventually be worth far more than the $420.
He said he sold most of his holdings to cut his losses but still saw the value of his Tesla portfolio plunge by 75%.
鈥淭he damage was done,鈥� Littleton lamented. 鈥淚 was in a state of shock.鈥�
Littleton鈥檚 frustration escalated in October 2018, when he lashed out at Tesla for late deliveries on vehicles for some of his nieces and nephews. That led him to become a lead investor in the lawsuit.
鈥淚 still believe in Tesla to this day. I do,鈥� Littleton said.
During cross-examination, a lawyer for Tesla鈥檚 board of directors repeatedly questioned whether Littleton had legitimate reason to believe a buyout was inevitable, but the investor remained steadfast even while seeming confused at times.
鈥溾�橣unding secured鈥� was the only thing that mattered to me,鈥� Littleton testified. 鈥淭hat was such a defining statement.鈥�
Musk鈥檚 2018 tweets attracted the attention of securities regulators, who concluded that they were improper and that he was lying. , they forced him to pay $40 million and required him to step down as Tesla chairman.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, who is presiding over the trial, ruled that the shareholders鈥� lawyers can鈥檛 mention that settlement in the case.
But Chen has already ruled that Musk鈥檚 tweet , a finding that can be alluded to during the trial without specifically mentioning the determination made by the judge. Pollitt seized on that opportunity during his opening statement, informing jurors that they are to assume Musk鈥檚 tweet was false, as the judge allowed. Spiro shook his head as he listened.
The trial鈥檚 outcome may turn on the jury鈥檚 interpretation of Musk鈥檚 motive for the tweets. And Musk will have his chance to make his case to the jury.
After the trial adjourned Wednesday, Porritt told The Associated Press he hopes to call Musk to the stand when the proceedings resume Friday after two other witnesses testify. If the allotted time runs out Friday, Musk will likely testify Monday, Porritt said.
Musk鈥檚 leadership of Twitter 鈥� where he has and alienated users and 鈥� has proven unpopular among Tesla鈥檚 current stockholders, who are worried that he has been devoting less time to automaker at a time of intensifying competition.
Those concerns contributed to a 65% percent decline in Tesla鈥檚 stock last year that wiped out more than $700 billion in shareholder wealth 鈥� far more than the $14 billion swing that occurred between the company鈥檚 high and low stock prices from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17, 2018, the period covered in the lawsuit.
Tesla鈥檚 stock has split twice since then, making the $420 price cited in his 2018 tweet worth $28 on adjusted basis now. The shares closed Wednesday at $128.78, down from the company鈥檚 November 2021 split-adjusted peak of $414.50.
After Musk dropped the idea of a Tesla buyout, the company overcame a production problem, resulting in a rapid upturn in car sales that caused its stock to soar and made Musk the world鈥檚 richest person until he bought Twitter. Musk dropped from the top spot on the wealth list after a stock market backlash to his handling of Twitter.
Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press
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