Twitter trial to conclude with final arguments over Elon Musks role

A US civil trial is set to begin in San Francisco, pitting Elon Musk against Twitter shareholders. The trial centers on a class-action lawsuit filed in October 2022, just before Musk took control of the social media platform. The lawsuit alleges that Musk engaged in deceptive behavior and misled investors as he attempted to back out of his $44bn deal to buy Twitter.

The trial focuses on Musk’s claims about the number of bots on Twitter. In regulatory filings, Twitter disclosed a 5% estimate of fake accounts, but Musk testified that this number was too low. He claimed that Twitter had a much higher number of fake and spam accounts, which he used as a reason to retreat from the purchase.

Musk also disputed Twitter’s former CFO Ned Segal’s claim that the bot number was closer to 1%. The company had previously paid $809.5m in 2021 to settle claims that it overstated its growth rate and monthly user figures. Twitter disclosed its bot estimates to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years, while cautioning that its estimate might be too low.

The trial is set to begin on Tuesday, with closing arguments expected soon after. The case involves a group of Twitter shareholders who claim they were misled by Musk’s actions. The outcome of the trial will determine whether Musk must honor his original deal or pay damages to the affected investors.

Source: Al Jazeera