Bloomberg Law
Jan. 20, 2023, 1:11 PM

An Acerbic Musk Risks Losing Billions If He Takes Lawyers’ Bait

Joel Rosenblatt
Joel Rosenblatt
Bloomberg News

Elon Musk needs a jury to believe him if the Tesla Inc. boss is to avoid being socked with potentially billions of dollars in damages at a securities fraud trial.

The chief executive officer is scheduled as soon as Friday to face off with lawyers representing investors taking him to trial in San Francisco. The shareholders contend his 2018 tweets about a plan to take the electric-car maker private with “funding secured” amounted to lies that cost them big losses from stock price swings over a 10-day period before the plan was abandoned.

The trial requires jurors to delve into ...