https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/18/musk-stands-to-lose-billions-in-trial-over-funding-secured-tweet/

The question of whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a fraud or is just too careless with his words took center stage in a San Francisco court room Wednesday. Under the microscope was Musk’s notorious 2018 tweet that stated funding was “secured” to take Tesla private at a potential value of $420 per share. In a class-action lawsuit that’s already two days underway, Tesla shareholders who traded the company’s stock in the days after Musk’s tweet are suing the executive for billions of dollars in damages.

The outcome of the trial will hinge on the language and intent of that tweet. The plaintiffs argue it led ordinary investors to lose money, and Musk’s lawyers argue the tweet was simultaneously true (he really did intend to take Tesla private) and a slip of the hand (“funding secured” was the wrong word choice).