A federal jury in San Francisco has found Elon Musk liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders by attempting to artificially depress the social media platform's share price ahead of his $44 billion takeover in 2022.
The verdict, delivered on Friday, concluded a closely watched civil trial focused on whether the billionaire's public commentary regarding spam and bot accounts was designed to facilitate renegotiating or abandoning the acquisition. Financial damages have yet to be calculated by the court. However, Francis Bottini, a lawyer representing the shareholders, estimated the final penalty could reach approximately $2.5 billion.
