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  • (dramatic music)

  • - Elon Musk is expected to testify in a federal trial

  • that deals with tweets he sent in 2018,

  • regarding the possibility of taking Tesla private.

  • Elon Musk tweeted, "Am considering taking Tesla private

  • at 420, funding secured."

  • He later followed up saying,

  • Investor support is confirmed.

  • Only reason why this is not certain

  • is that it's contingent on a shareholder vote."

  • Tesla's stock price closed up about 11%

  • the day that Mr. Musk sent those tweets,

  • and it later gave back those gains and fell further.

  • - Thank you all for coming tonight, and I...

  • - The deal which would've been valued

  • at around $72 billion never materialized.

  • The plaintiff has alleged that Mr. Musk's tweets

  • were false material to investors

  • who relied upon them to make trading decisions,

  • and that this class of investors

  • lost billions of dollars as a result.

  • Attorneys presented opening statements

  • on January 18th, in the case.

  • An attorney for the defendants who include Mr. Musk,

  • Tesla, and members of the board at the time

  • described the tweets as,

  • 'Shorthand, made in the heat of the moment

  • that didn't differ materially

  • from the situation at hand, even though,

  • in some cases, they may have been technically inaccurate."

  • (audience applauding)

  • The plaintiff is seeking damages

  • for investor losses

  • that Musk's tweets allegedly caused.

  • The plaintiff said in a trial brief,

  • "As a result of the turmoil

  • and the prices for Tesla stock, options, and bonds

  • caused by Musk in Tesla's statements,

  • investors lost billions of dollars

  • from August 7th, 2018 to August 17th, 2018.

  • The judge in this case has already ruled

  • that certain of Musk's statements were untrue.

  • That means that the key questions left for the jury

  • include whether those statements were material to investors,

  • and whether Musk knew that they were untrue.

  • Musk is expected to testify as soon as January 20th.

  • The witness lists indicate

  • that we may get to hear from Tesla executives

  • and current and former board members

  • about what was going on inside the company

  • at this incredibly interesting, chaotic time at Tesla.

  • The trial is expected to run for about three weeks,

  • through the beginning of February,

  • before being turned over to the jury to decide the verdict.

  • (tranquil music)

(dramatic music)

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