Dozens of jurors dismissed from Elon Musk Twitter takeover trial after his own lawyer admits so many 'hate him'

Source: The Independent

Friday 20 February 2026 23:12 EST


Dozens of jurors have been dismissed from tech billionaire Elon Musk’s civil trial regarding his actions during his takeover of Twitter, now known as X, after his own lawyer admitted so many Americans “hate him.” A group of investors is suing Musk in a San Francisco federal court for allegedly making misleading statements about bot accounts on Twitter, causing its stock price to plummet. His comments were made during his drama-filled $44 million acquisition of Twitter.

Nine jurors were picked out of a pool of 93 Americans in a selection process that took more than five hours Thursday, Bloomberg Law reports. Nearly 40 prospective jurors were quickly removed after they said they would not be able to push aside their biases. Musk’s attorney, Stephen Broome, raised concerns about the ire prospective jurors had toward his client.

Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is the richest person in the world. He thrust himself into the political spotlight during his stint as the head of President Donald Trump’s federal workforce-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.

“We have so many people in the venire who hate him so much that we’re becoming desensitized,” Broome said, per Bloomberg Law. He explained that if a prospective juror said they hated the defendant in any other case, they would definitely be eliminated.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/elon-musk-twitter-takeover-trial-jurors-b2924817.html