Elon Musk, Tesla Inc’s chief executive, told a jury on Friday that investors do not always react to his Twitter messages as he expects, during a trial over his 2018 interest in taking the electric carmaker private, which shareholders allege cost them millions in trading losses.
Musk’s testimony began with questions about his use of Twitter, the social media platform he bought in October. He called it the most democratic way to communicate but said his tweets did not always affect Tesla stock the way he expected.
“Just because I tweet something does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly,” Musk told the jury in San Francisco federal court.
Musk testified for less than 30 minutes before court adjourned until Monday and he was not asked about the 2018 Twitter post where he said he was considering taking Tesla private and that he had “funding secured.”
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
He is expected to address why he has insisted he had Saudi investor backing to take Tesla private, which never occurred, and whether he knowingly made a materially misleading statement with his tweet.
The case is a rare securities class-action trial and the plaintiffs have already cleared high legal hurdles, with U.S. Judge Edward Chen ruling last year that Musk’s post was untruthful and reckless.
Shareholders alleged that Musk lied when he sent the tweet, costing investors.
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Company facing difficulties
Musk, wearing a dark suit over a white, button-down shirt, spoke softly and in a sometimes bemused manner, a contrast to his occasional combative testimony during past trials.
Musk described the difficulties Tesla went through around the time he sent the “funding secured” tweet, including bets by short-sellers that the stock would fall.
“A bunch of sharks on Wall Street wanted Tesla to die, very badly,” he said, describing short-sellers, who profit when a stock falls in price.
He said short-sellers plant false stories and said the practice should be made illegal.
Shares of Tesla ended the day Friday at $133.42 US, about five per cent higher than the day before.
Documents related to the class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who owned Tesla stock in August 2018 are are wheeled toward a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 17. (Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press)
Earlier on Friday, Tesla investor Timothy Fries told the jury he lost $5,000 buying Tesla stock after Musk sent the tweet at the centre of the lawsuit.
Fries said that “funding secured” meant to him that “there had been some vetting, some critical review of those funding sources.”
Musk wanted to protect shareholders, lawyer says
Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told the jury in his opening statement on Wednesday that Musk believed he had financing from Saudi backers and was taking steps to make the deal happen.
Fearing leaks to the media, Musk tried to protect the “everyday shareholder” by sending the tweet, which contained “technical inaccuracies,” Spiro said.
Guhan Subramanian, a Harvard Law School professor, told the jury that Musk’s behaviour in 2018 was “unprecedented” and “incoherent” in structuring a corporate deal because he went public with his intent to take Tesla private without proper financial or legal analysis.
A jury of nine will decide whether the tweet artificially inflated Tesla’s share price by playing up the status of funding 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.
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Not long ago, Tesla seemed unstoppable. But Elon Musk’s electric vehicle juggernaut closed out 2022 as the worst-performing stock among the most valuable tech companies — and its shares have dipped even lower since then. Today, Patrick George — a contributing writer with Vox Media’s The Verge and an editor with The Autopian — joins us for a look at where things went south for Tesla, and the hurdles the company faces going forward.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Suncor Energy has been fined $90,000 after pleading guilty to two charges stemming from a worker injury in 2019 aboard its production vessel in an oilfield off the coast of Newfoundland.
In a news release Thursday, the province’s offshore oil regular said the company must also give $20,000 to the College of the North Atlantic’s health and safety management program.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board says Calgary-based Suncor pleaded guilty on Sept. 5 for failing to ensure the safety of its employees and failing to ensure its employees wore a safety harness attached to a lifeline while inside a confined space.
The board says a worker fell 7.6 metres from a safety ladder while testing for hydrogen sulfide in a ballast tank on the floating production and storage vessel in the Terra Nova offshore oilfield.
An agreed statement of facts says two emergency response workers then went into the tank to tend to the fallen man, and they were not wearing gas masks.
Suncor Energy is the majority owner of the Terra Nova oilfield, and it reported net earnings of $1.57 billion in the second quarter of this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
Toronto-Dominion Bank has named new co-heads of its U.S. commercial banking business.
TD says Andy Bregenzer and Jill Gateman will jointly lead the operations.
The bank says the appointments follow the announcement earlier this year of Chris Giamo’s retirement.
Bregenzer will focus on leading all aspects of the regional commercial bank, including small business.
Gateman will lead TD’s national commercial banking effort in the U.S., including middle market, sponsor-backed finance and TD’s other specialty lending lines of business.
TD, which is working to resolve investigations into failures in its anti-money laundering program in the U.S., announced last week that chief executive Bharat Masrani would retire next year and be replaced by Raymond Chun.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
MONTREAL – Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says it is conducting a review of its business and operations including talks relating to a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The Montreal-based payments technology company made the comments after reports concerning a potential transaction involving the company.
Lightspeed says it periodically undertakes a review of its business and operations with a view of realizing its full potential.
A strategic review is often seen by investors as a prelude to a sale by a company.
Lightspeed says its board of directors is committed to acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.
Company founder Dax Dasilva returned to the role of chief executive officer earlier this year and has been working to return the company to profitability.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
