"The civil trial in San Francisco centers on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control of Twitter, a social media service he renamed X, in October 2022, six months after agreeing to buy the embattled company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. The case represents Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between May 13 and Oct. 4, 2022, revolves around allegations that Musk violated federal securities laws while taking a series of calculated steps to drive down the company's stock price."
"Musk maintained the deal merited re-negotiation or termination while insisting Twitter's board duped him about the percentage of fake, or 'bot,' account on its platform - a stance he took again during his Wednesday testimony in a black suit and a tie. When asked if he had threatened to 'hunt down' Twitter's board unless they returned to the negotiating table to discuss a revised sales price, Musk didn't rule out that possibility."
"There were a lot of threats going back and forth from both sides. I was pretty upset with the Twitter board because I felt they had engaged in fraud. The problem of bots and fake accounts on Twitter wasn't new at the time Musk negotiated the deal. The company had paid $809.5 million in 2021 to settle claims it was overstating its growth rate and monthly user figures."
Elon Musk testified in a San Francisco civil trial defending against accusations of securities law violations and investor deception related to his Twitter acquisition. The class-action lawsuit represents shareholders who sold stock between May and October 2022, claiming Musk deliberately drove down the stock price to either terminate or renegotiate the $44 billion deal. Musk maintained Twitter's board misrepresented bot account percentages and engaged in fraud, justifying his attempts to back out. He acknowledged threats were exchanged with the board during negotiations. Twitter had previously settled similar claims in 2021 for $809.5 million regarding overstated user metrics and growth rates.
Read at Fast Company
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