Judge Forced to Slash SF Jury Pool Over Hate for Elon Musk

Intense bias against the billionaire led to the dismissal of over a third of prospective jurors for a civil trial over Musk's Twitter acquisition.

Feb. 20, 2026 at 9:35pm by Ben Kaplan

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A federal judge in San Francisco was forced to dismiss more than a third of a 93-person jury pool for an upcoming civil trial involving Elon Musk due to widespread bias and hatred against the billionaire. The trial is over Musk's behavior during his 2022 purchase of Twitter, with investors alleging he violated securities law. Many potential jurors expressed strong negative views about Musk, his companies, and his political leanings, leading the judge to remove them from the pool.

Why it matters

This case highlights the challenges of finding impartial juries, especially when high-profile public figures like Elon Musk are involved. The intense dislike for Musk among many potential jurors raises questions about how such bias can impact the fairness and integrity of the judicial process, particularly in civil cases where the stakes may not be as high as in criminal trials.

The details

Federal judge Charles Breyer slashed more than a third of the 93-person jury pool after many potential jurors expressed strong biases against Elon Musk during the pre-selection questionnaire. Around three dozen people raised their hands to say they couldn't ignore their negative views of Musk, leading the judge to dismiss them. Others who made it through the first cut also revealed their disdain for the billionaire, with one candidate saying they felt 'morally obligated to convict' Musk in a criminal trial and another stating that the loss of 'hundreds of millions of dollars' in the civil case 'doesn't really matter' to Musk's wealth.

  • The civil trial is scheduled to begin in March 2026.
  • Jury selection took about five hours on February 20, 2026.

The players

Elon Musk

The CEO of Tesla and the defendant in the civil trial over his 2022 acquisition of Twitter.

Charles Breyer

The federal judge presiding over the civil trial involving Elon Musk.

Stephen Broome

The attorney representing Elon Musk in the civil trial.

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What they’re saying

“I fear that what's happening here, is we have so many people in the venire who hate him so much that we've become desensitized to how improper it would be to have somebody like this on the panel.”

— Stephen Broome, Elon Musk's attorney (Bloomberg Law)

What’s next

The civil trial over Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition is scheduled to begin in March 2026.

The takeaway

This case highlights the challenges of seating an impartial jury when a high-profile public figure like Elon Musk is involved. The intense bias against Musk among potential jurors raises concerns about the fairness and integrity of the judicial process, especially in civil cases where the stakes may not be as high as in criminal trials.