Billionaire Musk likely to 'double down' on tweets after court victory
By Jody Godoy and Jonathan Stempel
Feb 3 (Reuters) -Elon Musk may become even more emboldened in his Twitter useafter a jury cleared the billionaire Tesla Inc TSLA.O chief executive over his missive that he had "funding secured" to take his electric car company private.
A San Francisco jury took just two hours to unanimously find the world's second-richest person not liable for having allegedly tweeted fraudulently in August 2018 about a possible Tesla buyout.
Musk is likely to "double down" on his communication tactics after the verdict, said Minor Myers, a professor of corporate law at the University of Connecticut.
"This is only going to embolden him to act as he sees fit," Myers said.
Musk ultimately abandoned his effort to take Tesla private, but told jurors early in the three-week trial that he had believed what he wrote in tweets.
Karen Woody, an associate professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law, said she thought the case was "rock-solid" against Musk and she was shocked at the verdict.
"He pushed the boundaries, and won," she said. "I expect Elon is going to write anything he wants,"
Musk himself thanked the jury on Twitter -- which he bought in October for $44 billion.
"Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed," he wrote.
The Tesla shareholders who sued Musk had sought billions of dollars in damages.
Musk's raw tweeting style has made him a hero for many, and burnished the Tesla brand.
He fought hard against accusations that he had not told the truth, with his lawyer, Alex Spiro, telling the jury that the "funding secured" tweet was only technically inaccurate.
"Who cares about bad word choice?" Spiro said during closing arguments.
The tweets led to Musk and Tesla paying $40 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges under a consent agreement that Musk has fought unsuccessfully to lift.
"He doesn't want to play by SEC rules as the SEC understands them, and the SEC doesn't want to be perceived as backing down," said Adam Pritchard, a University of Michigan law professor. "I expect them to continue having their difficulties."
Still, many analysts said Musk, who has tweeted more than 22,000 times and has about 128 million Twitter followers, has no reason to slow down now.
"Many people, when confronted by a lawsuit of this type would have dialed back tweeting," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. "But that wasn't the case in the Twitter deal, was it?
"Musk lives by his own rules, or so it seems," Forrest said.
Additional reporting by Nivedita Balu; writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Leslie Adler
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
