Elon Musk and Tesla Are Entering Dark Times Part 2

The possibility of a 72 billion buyout sparked a stock price surge for the company, but it abruptly came to an end a week later when it became clear he lacked the resources to complete the transaction Then, Tesla shareholders sued him, claiming that if he hadnt floated the idea of buying the company for 420 per share, Tesla shares wouldnt have fluctuated so dramatically in value

Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer representing Glen Littleton and other Tesla shareholders in the class-action case, promptly vilified Musk as he addressed jurors

What brings us here Porritt enquired Elon Musk, the chairman and chief executive of Tesla, lied, and that is why we are here Regular people like Glen Littleton lost millions of dollars as a result of his lies Additionally, he claimed that Musks tweet damaged pension funds and other companies that were at the time holding Tesla stock

The rise in Teslas stock following the tweet, according to Musks attorney Alex Spiro, was primarily due to investors confidence in Musks capacity to accomplish amazing feats, such as creating the largest electric automaker in the world while also running SpaceX, a manufacturer of rocket ships Mr Musk tries to accomplish feats that have never been accomplished That is common knowledge, Spiro informed the jury

Spiro added that Musk had already discussed taking Tesla private with officials from Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund Spiro remarked of Musks August 7, 2018, tweet that was the trials pivotal statement, He didnt plan to tweet this The decision to be as open and honest about the discussions with the Saudi fund regarding a potential deal was made in a split-second

Musk tweeted that the buyouts funding was secured and that a deal was about to be finalised The first witness called was Littleton, a 71-year-old investor from Kansas City, Missouri He claimed that Musks assertion regarding the financing alarmed him because he had invested in Tesla to reward him for his conviction that the stock of the automaker would eventually be worth much more than the 420

He claimed to have cut his losses by selling the majority of his holdings, but the value of his Tesla portfolio still fell by 75 Littleton lamented, The harm was done I was shocked, the speaker said In October 2018, Littleton lost his cool and criticised Tesla for delivering some of his nieces and nephews cars late He eventually joined the lawsuit as a lead investor as a result

A representative for Teslas board of directors repeatedly questioned Littleton during cross-examination about his justification for thinking a buyout was inevitable, but the investor remained steadfast despite occasionally appearing perplexed According to Littletons testimony, Funding secured was the only thing that mattered to me Such a defining statement, I thought

The trials chief judge, US District Judge Edward Chen, decided that the shareholders attorneys cannot bring up that settlement during the trial But Chen has already decided that Musks tweet was false, and this decision can be hinted at during the trial without being mentioned by name During his opening remarks, Pollitt seized the chance to instruct the jury that they should presume Musks tweet was false, as the judge had permitted Spiro listened while shaking his head