Musk's Tweets Ahead of Twitter Purchase Are Focus of New Trial

Source: Bloomberg

March 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST


Elon Musk’s brief effort to back out of buying Twitter Inc. in 2022 is the focus of a trial starting this week over claims the world’s richest person manipulated the company’s stock price to get himself a better deal.

Musk eventually paid $44 billion for Twitter that fall, closing the buyout at the $54.20-per-share price he had originally agreed to six months earlier. But during the in-between months, a group of investors allege, Musk publicly attacked the company in a ruse to drive down its market value and benefit himself at their expense.

The trial that kicks off Monday in San Francisco federal court will cover familiar ground, namely the serial entrepreneur’s unconventional penchant for communicating with the market through tweets — which has gotten him into trouble before. Musk is expected to be the star witness.

The trial will revisit the chaotic six-month period in 2022 during which Musk waffled between a hostile takeover of Twitter, an attempted withdrawal of his offer, and ultimately, consummation of the deal after the company sued him to follow through.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-02/musk-s-tweets-ahead-of-twitter-purchase-are-focus-of-new-trial?srnd=homepage-americas