Elon Musk remains in the news all the time for some reason or the other. His actions following the acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, created headlines every other day. The South African billionaire made a lot of dramatic changes in the company which didn’t sit well with people.
Musk is going to face a fraud trial for one of his tweets from 2018. In it, the Tesla CEO had claimed that he had enough funds to take the electric car maker private. So let’s find out in detail about this tweet and the trial that awaits one of the world’s richest people.
Related: Why Were The Employees Of Elon Musk-Owned Twitter Forced Out Of Its Singapore Office?
Elon Musk Is Facing Trial For A 2018 Tweet
Musk has been neck-deep managing Twitter as the company struggles to attract advertisers and dodge losses. However, amid all this, a new problem has surfaced for the SpaceX founder.
On Tuesday, Musk will be facing a fraud trial for his August 2018 tweet in which he wrote that he has enough funds to take the electric car maker private. It had a significant impact on the company’s share price.
Shareholders sued him for his claim that funding was “secured” to buy Tesla’s shareholders as it cost them billions of dollars. On Friday, Judge Edward Chen denied the permission for transferring proceedings to Texas. Defense lawyers are arguing that the billionaire won’t receive a fair trial in San Francisco where Twitter headquarters reside.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had ordered the Twitter chief to step down as Tesla’s chairman board pay a fine of $20 million.
In case you missed: Will Elon Musk Start Selling Usernames On Twitter To Increase Revenue?
His Tryst With Twitter
After a long and messy legal battle, Musk bought the social media giant in late 2023. However, it was just the beginning of an avalanche. Right after the takeover, he began on a firing spree.
Musk fired the company’s CEO, CFO, several top executives, and nearly half of the workforce. He then introduced a paid subscription model for the verified accounts on the platform which severely backfired.
Since then, in order to cut costs, Musk has stopped paying rent which caused the Singapore office to shut down. He has also ended several employee perks like free meals and has stopped paying company vendors.
You might also like to read: Why Is Elon Musk Accused Of Cheating The Former Employees Over Severance Pay?
