Shareholder attorney Nicolas Porritt told the jury in his opening statements on Wednesday that Musk lied when he sent the tweets, which cost investors such as lead plaintiff Glenn Littleton.
Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in his opening statement that Musk believed he had financing from Saudi backers and was taking steps to close the deal. Fearing leaks to the media, Musk tried to protect the “daily shareholder” by sending tweets that contained “technical inaccuracies,” Spiro said.
The nine-member jury will decide whether the tweet artificially inflated Tesla’s share price by playing up the funding position for the deal, and if so, by how much.
The defendants include current and former Tesla directors, whom Spiro said had “pure” motives in their response to Musk’s plan.
The hearing resumed on Thursday after a day’s break.