Musk says Tesla tweet was genuine in fraud case – Saudi Gazette

Musk says Tesla tweet was genuine in fraud case – Saudi Gazette

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk has told a court that he believed he had enough backing to take Tesla private at the time he issued a controversial tweet.

The boss of the electric car company is on trial after investors claimed the 2018 tweet cost them millions of dollars when a deal did not go ahead.

Musk claims that he had met with a Saudi sovereign wealth fund who indicated they would support a deal. He added he would have sold his stake in rocket firm SpaceX to raise money.

Musk is accused of defrauding investors after he tweeted on Aug, 7, 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share, and that “investor support is confirmed”.

The tweet sent shares in Tesla soaring, but weeks later they fell back when Musk said the plan was no longer going ahead, causing a significant backlash for the billionaire.

He was forced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US regulator, to step down as Tesla’s chairman and had to have any tweets related to Tesla vetted by an independent committee.

He and Tesla were also fined $20 million each to settle a claim by the SEC that he had committed securities fraud.

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