Saudi Fund Chief Refuses to Testify at Musk’s Tesla Fraud Trial

Elon Musk can’t count on the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to help his defense at an upcoming trial over claims by investors that the Tesla Inc. CEO defrauded them in 2018.

Through their lawyers, Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other officials from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund argued to the judge overseeing the case Thursday that they’re not legally obligated to show up for the trial in San Francisco federal court that’s set to start Jan. 17.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan

Photographer: Mohammed Al-Nemer/Bloomberg

Investors allege Musk misled them with tweets in August 2018 saying he had a plan to take the electric-car maker private ...