---
title: "Elon Musk 'Trashed' Twitter And Its Leadership With His Bot Comments, Says Lawyer — Faces Jury Verdict In Stock Manipulation Trial"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/279532262.md"
description: "A jury is deliberating whether Elon Musk misled investors and negatively impacted Twitter's stock with his comments about bots during the $44 billion acquisition deal. Former Twitter investors claim Musk's statements about fake accounts undermined the company and drove down share prices. Musk's defense argues he raised legitimate concerns and did not commit fraud. The jury will decide if Musk's comments were misleading and if he intended to manipulate the stock price, with potential damages to be determined if found liable."
datetime: "2026-03-18T02:56:47.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279532262.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279532262.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279532262.md)
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# Elon Musk 'Trashed' Twitter And Its Leadership With His Bot Comments, Says Lawyer — Faces Jury Verdict In Stock Manipulation Trial

On Tuesday, A lawyer for former **Twitter** investors told a San Francisco federal jury that **Elon Musk** deliberately undermined the company in 2022 by publicly casting doubt on the number of fake accounts on the platform.

## **Shareholders Allege Musk Drove Down Stock**

Attorney **Mark Molumphy** argued Musk "trashed the company" and its leadership, adding that his repeated claims that bots could far exceed Twitter's disclosed 5% rattled markets and pushed shares lower, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit covers investors who sold stock between May and October 2022, when Musk suggested the deal was "on hold" and even warned that it "cannot go forward" without clarity on bot figures.

## **Musk's Defense: No Fraud, Just Concerns**

Musk's attorney, **Michael Lifrak**, countered that the billionaire had legitimate concerns about spam accounts and was trying to assess the business.

"Two tweets and a podcast does not equal securities fraud," Lifrak told jurors, arguing that plaintiffs failed to prove intent to deceive.

He maintained that stock movement alone does not establish fraud.

## **Jury Weighs Fraud, Intent And Damages**

Jurors are now deciding whether Musk's statements were misleading and part of a scheme to manipulate Twitter's share price. If found liable, they will determine damages.

Musk ultimately completed the acquisition in October 2022 for $44 billion. He later rebranded Twitter as **X**, which was acquired by his space venture company, **SpaceX**, last month.

***Disclaimer*:** *This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.*

*Photo Courtesy: Evolf on Shutterstock.com*

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> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**