Elon Musk racked up another significant victory this week with a win in federal court. A lawsuit brought by Tesla stockholders against the company’s CEO was rejected by a jury.
For Musk, the win bolsters his claim that a tweet in which he joked about Tesla becoming a privately-held company for $420 a share. Musk wrote that he had “funding secured.” This 2018 tweet forced Musk to give up his role as the company’s executive chairman. He also had to pay millions in Securities and Exchange Commission fines.
Now the tech guru is having the last laugh. Each of the plaintiffs’ four claims was rejected and met with a strong reaction from Musk soon after.
“I am deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding,” he wrote.
The news goosed Tesla stock, which has been on a tear lately. It is also good news for Musk, who has gained considerable goodwill from his purchase of Twitter.
The Tesla and SpaceX owner came out on top in the court case, beating the class action lawsuit. While Musk is not averse to controversy, the suit appeared to be without charge.
The argument that Musk’s action was responsible for stock losses was spurious. In other words, other CEOs would not have been subjected to the same level of scrutiny.
BREAKING: A California jury cleared Elon Musk of claims by Tesla investors that he defrauded them when he tweeted that he was considering taking the company private https://t.co/wgZubP0Lns
— Bloomberg (@business) February 3, 2023
Elon Musk’s rise is a success story of American capitalism and his own ingenuity. By being able to bring life-changing products to the market, Musk is the Thomas Edison of our day.
This suit allows Tesla to move on to its next major projects, especially the coming larger-scale production of the Cybertruck.
Musk’s high media profile may also make him a special target. His wealth and fame are synonymous with Tesla, so for stockholders, there may have been a misguided argument against Musk.
Either way, the matter is now resolved and Elon Musk can go back to building electric cars, putting satellites into orbit, and running the most influential social media platform in the world.
