Elon Musk Found Liable For Misleading Twitter Shareholders

Jury rules Musk's tweet claiming $44B Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold" was harmful and misleading.

Mar. 21, 2026 at 8:26pm by Ben Kaplan

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A California jury has found Elon Musk liable for misleading Twitter shareholders during his $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022. The jury determined that Musk's tweet claiming the deal was "temporarily on hold" resulted in Twitter's shares sliding nearly 10% and could cost him up to $2.6 billion in damages. While the jury did not find Musk engaged in an outright fraud scheme, they ruled his actions were harmful and misleading to average investors.

Why it matters

This case highlights the legal risks and consequences for high-profile business leaders who make public statements that impact the stock prices of the companies they are acquiring or leading. It also underscores the importance of transparency and honesty when communicating with shareholders, especially during major corporate transactions.

The details

The class-action lawsuit, Pampena v. Musk, centered around Musk's tweet in May 2022 claiming the $44 billion Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold" over concerns about the platform's bot and spam accounts. The jury unanimously determined this tweet was misleading, even though they did not find Musk engaged in an outright fraud scheme. Musk's attorney said they plan to appeal the verdict, which could result in up to $2.6 billion in damages for the former Twitter shareholders.

  • On May 13, 2022, Musk tweeted that the Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold".
  • In October 2022, Musk agreed to buy Twitter for the originally proposed price of $54.20 per share.

The players

Elon Musk

The CEO of Tesla and the world's second-richest person, who acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal in 2022.

Pampena v. Musk

The class-action lawsuit filed by former Twitter shareholders against Musk for allegedly misleading investors during his acquisition of the platform.

Joseph Cotchett

The attorney representing the former Twitter shareholders in the Pampena v. Musk lawsuit.

Quinn Emanuel

The law firm representing Elon Musk, which stated they plan to appeal the jury's verdict.

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What they’re saying

“This is a great example of what you cannot do to the average investor — people that have 401ks, kids, pension funds, teachers, firemen, nurses. That's what this case was all about. This was not about Musk. It was about the whole operation.”

— Joseph Cotchett, Attorney representing former Twitter shareholders

“We view today's verdict, where the jury found both for and against the plaintiffs and found no fraud scheme, as a bump in the road. And we look forward to vindication on appeal.”

— Quinn Emanuel, Elon Musk's legal team

What’s next

Musk's legal team plans to appeal the jury's verdict, which could potentially reduce or overturn the $2.6 billion in damages awarded to the former Twitter shareholders.

The takeaway

This case underscores the importance of transparency and honesty when communicating with shareholders, especially during major corporate transactions. It serves as a warning to high-profile business leaders that they can be held legally liable for making misleading public statements that impact stock prices and investor confidence.