Tesla boss Elon Musk defended himself in court in San Francisco. He didn’t lie, he claimed. And his tweet was no laughing matter.
“$420 was a coincidence,” Elon Musk argued in a San Francisco court. Musk has to defend himself in a case that angered Tesla shareholders strained against him. He tweeted in 2018 that he would take Tesla private for $420, which he never did.
A lot of ink has already been spilled about that price, $ 420. After all, in cannabis culture, ‘420’ equates to smoking weed, something Musk doesn’t shy away from. Famous are the images in which Musk smoke a joint during an interview with Youtube host Joe Rogan.
“Did you round up the amount to 420 because you thought your girlfriend would think it was a joke?” the lawyer asked. That is what Andrew Hawkins, a journalist for the American tech site, said The Verge who reported on Twitter from the courtroom. To which Musk replied playfully that ‘there is a certain karma around 420. Although you can now wonder whether that was good or bad karma.’
In the end, he argued that the $420 price was no joke, but just happened to be the price of Tesla stock at the time, plus a 20 percent premium on top.
Lied or not?
Last Friday, Musk spoke briefly for the first time, today the case continues with him. He will have to convince the court that he really believed he could take Tesla private, and that he did not knowingly lie to investors.
“I said I was considering it,” Musk said. As a reminder, his “infamous tweet,” as Musk himself now referred to it, said, “I’m considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share. Financing assured.’
“So I didn’t say it would happen,” Musk said now. “But that I thought about taking Tesla private at $420 a share. And that, in my opinion, the financing was guaranteed.’
For that financing, Musk referred to the Saudi investment company PIF. “It’s like when you buy a house,” said Musk, who quickly added that he doesn’t own any houses. ‘PIF is the bank for that.’ However, there were no signed documents. That was ammunition for the opposing party. “So you expect less paperwork when taking a multibillion-dollar company private than you do when buying a house?”
Teflon Elon
The case may have major implications for Musk. Prosecutors are seeking billions of dollars in damages. That while Musk’s fortunes have shrunk considerably recently, mainly because the share of Tesla – which holds the bulk of his assets – has fallen by 27 percent since December last year.
“Just because I tweet something doesn’t mean people will believe it or act on it,” Musk said.
It is not the first time that Musk has to answer to a judge. He was also in court in 2019 and 2021, but came out unscathed – which even earned him the nickname Teflon Elon.
