Musk Manipulated Market Before Twitter Takeover, Suit Says (2)

A Twitter Inc. investor sued the company and its would-be acquirer, Elon Musk, claiming the world’s richest man has intentionally raised public doubts about the proposed $44 billion takeover as part of a scheme to effectively reduce the transaction’s cost by manipulating the stock market.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, accuses Musk of deliberately making market-moving statements—such as his claim that the deal is “on hold” until he sees more data about fake and spam accounts—that were calibrated to “drive Twitter’s stock down substantially in order to create leverage.”

The scheme was inspired by the declining value of Tesla Inc. ...