Billionaire Elon Musk¡¯s brief effort to back out of buying Twitter in 2022 is the focus of a trial that kicked off Monday 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 in San Francisco federal court will cover familiar ground, namely the serial entrepreneur¡¯s unconventional penchant for communicating with the market through tweets ¡ª which has gotten him into trouble before. Musk is slated to be the star witness.
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