SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 (Reuters) – A federal judge ruled that the 2018 tweets of Tesla CEO Elon Musk for securing funding for a private private company were fake, according to court documents from investors. Tesla sued the billionaire for tweets.
The documents say the court ruled on April 1 that Musk’s 2018 tweets were “fake and misleading.” The court “accepted that he had recklessly made the statements with the knowledge of their untruthfulness,” it said.
Investors in the electric car maker have asked in a document filed Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen to block the famous entrepreneur from his “public campaign to present a controversial and false story about” his 2018 tweets.
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Musk said Thursday that funding has actually been secured to make Tesla private in 2018. He has settled with US securities regulators over what the agency found to be false statements, paid fines and agreed that the lawyer would approve some of his tweets before posting them. Read more
This decision of 1 April was not recorded in the judicial act.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Voidke and Elon Musk attend the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Grunheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul / Poole through REUTERS
The problems will be at the center of a lawsuit in May in which investors seek compensation for tweets.
Musk “used his fame and notoriety to influence public opinion to his advantage by fighting the press after he was defeated in court,” the document said.
Musk’s latest comments risk confusing potential jurors and undermining the jury’s decision on the amount of damages due to Musk, the statement said.
Musk is trying to cancel his agreement with the SEC, accusing the agency of harassing him with investigations.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk and Tesla, reaffirmed on Saturday that it is true that Musk is considering taking over Tesla in 2018 and has funding for the move. “All that is left half a decade later are the random lawyers of the plaintiffs who are trying to make money and others who are trying to prevent this truth from coming to light, all to the detriment of freedom of speech.” he said.
The case is In re Tesla Inc Securities Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-04865.
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Report by Hyunjoo Jin; Edited by Cynthia Ostermann
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