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Elon Musk told a federal jury in San Francisco that legal pressure pushed him to complete the $44 billion Twitter deal in 2022. He said his lawyers warned him he would likely lose the Delaware court fight after Twitter sued to force him to close the deal.
Musk said the case left him with little room to continue the dispute, and he told jurors his lawyers said there was no choice. His testimony came in a shareholder trial over his public statements during the takeover process, where investors claim those statements affected Twitter’s stock price.
Musk said his legal team believed he would struggle to win in the Delaware Court of Chancery. He told jurors that several court rulings increased the legal risk, and he said that assessment shaped his final decision. Musk had agreed in April 2022 to buy Twitter for about $44 billion, valuing the company’s shares at $54.20 each.
Months later, Musk tried to exit the acquisition and raised concerns about spam and fake accounts on the platform. Twitter responded by suing him in Delaware and sought to enforce the original merger agreement.
The case moved quickly toward trial, and Elon Musk later reversed course and completed the takeover in October 2022. During his testimony, he said legal advice played a central role in that move and described the pressure as decisive.
The San Francisco trial centers on claims from former Twitter shareholders who accuse Musk of misleading the market during the takeover dispute. Investors argue that his public comments moved Twitter’s stock and point to his posts and statements during the standoff. A key issue in the case involves Musk’s 2022 tweet stating the deal was “temporarily on hold,” which shareholders say affected trading decisions.
The plaintiffs claim some investors sold shares after believing Musk would abandon the acquisition, but Musk later completed the deal at the original price. One investor told the court he sold thousands of Twitter shares in July 2022 because he believed Musk would not proceed.
Musk later closed the acquisition at $54.20 per share, and the investor said he received a lower price when he sold. The plaintiffs argue that this gap caused financial harm and are seeking damages tied to alleged losses during the takeover period.
On the witness stand, Musk rejected claims that he tried to manipulate Twitter’s stock price. He said his tweets reflected his personal views at the time and added that people often read too much into his posts. Musk told jurors that saying the deal was on hold did not mean he canceled it, and he said he never announced a full withdrawal.
He also addressed his online behavior during testimony and acknowledged that some of his posts were not his best decisions. At one point, he made a self-critical remark about his tweets and said he would be guilty in a trial for stupid tweets.
The trial will likely examine his statements and their market impact, and jurors will decide whether his comments misled investors. The case also raises a broader question for corporate leaders because it tests how courts treat social media posts that can move markets quickly.
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