In his testimony, Mr. Musk said he thought Twitter was “the best way to communicate with people”, including “investors big and small”. He also said he used Twitter to share memes, a comment that made some people watching the trial laugh.
Mr. Musk also acknowledged that his associates and friends, including a then-Tesla executive, Antonio Gracias, suggested that he take a break from Twitter in July 2018. That summer was fraught with “extreme pain,” Musk said, as Tesla struggled to ramp up production of its most affordable car, the Model 3. a British diver involved in a cave rescue in Thailand was a ‘pedo man’.
When asked if he took their advice, Mr Musk replied: “I suppose I continued tweeting.”
His posts were closely followed and analyzed by investors and others interested in the company and electric cars.
On the witness stand, Glen Littleton, one of the investors and a plaintiff in the case, said Wednesday that Musk’s initial statement on Twitter about taking the company private seemed final. As a result, Mr Littleton said he started trading options.
“It would pretty much wipe me out,” said 71-year-old Littleton, referring to Tesla going private. “I wanted to insure my livelihood. This was a threat to my livelihood.”
Timothy Fries, another investor and plaintiff in the case, testified Friday that Mr. Musk’s initial statement on Twitter appeared to present a good opportunity to invest in Tesla. He bought stock in the company the next day.
“I wasn’t ready to buy stock until I saw the tweet,” Mr Fries said. He thought the deal was still being negotiated, but that Mr Musk’s post meant “there was a committed party and those funds had been vetted.”
