Elon Musk faces billions in damages after brutal court loss
Erik De La Garza
March 20, 2026
The verdict in the class-action case stems from claims that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO – who also served a controversial tenure as President Donald Trump’s DOGE head – made misleading statements during his 2022 effort to purchase Twitter. Musk later renamed the social media platform to X.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said total damages could reach as much as $2.6 billion, CNBC reported Friday. Musk, however, was cleared of some fraud allegations, the outlet added.
“This is a great example of what you cannot do to the average investor -- people that have 401ks, kids, pension funds, teachers, firemen, nurses,” an attorney for the Twitter investors told CNBC outside a San Francisco courthouse. “That’s what this case was all about. This was not about Musk. It was about the whole operation.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in October 2022 after Musk completed the takeover at $54.20 per share.
Erik De La Garza
March 20, 2026
RAW STORY
Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A California jury found Friday that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors in the lead-up to his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company, potentially exposing him to billions in damages, according to multiple reports.
Elon Musk is seen with a bruised eye that Musk claimed he received at the hands of his son, X Æ A-12, as he attends a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A California jury found Friday that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors in the lead-up to his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company, potentially exposing him to billions in damages, according to multiple reports.
The verdict in the class-action case stems from claims that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO – who also served a controversial tenure as President Donald Trump’s DOGE head – made misleading statements during his 2022 effort to purchase Twitter. Musk later renamed the social media platform to X.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said total damages could reach as much as $2.6 billion, CNBC reported Friday. Musk, however, was cleared of some fraud allegations, the outlet added.
“This is a great example of what you cannot do to the average investor -- people that have 401ks, kids, pension funds, teachers, firemen, nurses,” an attorney for the Twitter investors told CNBC outside a San Francisco courthouse. “That’s what this case was all about. This was not about Musk. It was about the whole operation.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in October 2022 after Musk completed the takeover at $54.20 per share.
Adam Nichols
March 20, 2026
RAW STORY
Jon Stewart gives remarks at a PACT Act rally to support funding veterans who are victims of burn pit related illnesses. (Shutterstock.com)
Jon Stewart got into an ugly — and very public — battle with Elon Musk as the two hurled insults at each other, and the comedian delivered a personal blow to finish it off.
The dispute began after Stewart aired a segment on "The Weekly Show" examining X's impact on democracy. He criticized the Tesla head's focus on undocumented voting, stating, "Musk has pushed this idea that undocumented, non-citizen voting is rampant, it is sowing the seeds of our destruction, and we cannot do it."
Stewart highlighted what he viewed as a fundamental contradiction in Musk's position. He said: "The irony of it all is [because of] this guy's platform, this guy's algorithm, which he is in charge of... he is a far more relevant actor in the warping of our democracy, through his money and his algorithm, than any measure of undocumented, non-citizen voting will ever be."
Stewart predicted Musk's defense, stating, "What his argument—and I think his people's argument—would be, is: Now that we're getting uncensored material, now that the First Amendment has primacy, people move to the right because they learn the truth."
Stewart countered, "The truth is that algorithm incentivizes the misinformation from the right, and he designs it."
A clearly angry Musk responded directly with an attack on Stewart's credibility. "Jon Stewart is an extremely skilled propagandist disguised as a truth-teller," he wrote.
Stewart fired back, characterizing Musk as just, "An extremely skilled propagandist."
"Not as good as you! Stop being so humble," Musk fired back late Thursday.
Stewart subsequently invited Musk to appear on his show to discuss their disagreements. However, a previous invitation went unfulfilled. Last year, Musk indicated he would appear on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" if the interview aired "unedited," but the appearance never occurred. Stewart later revealed that Musk had "ghosted" him after reading a follow-up message.
That's when Stewart went personal.
"Judging from his most recent revelations of his baby mamas, I think everyone has been left on read at some point by that gentleman," he said on his podcast.
Musk has at least 14 children with four women.
Musk's X platform has faced widespread criticism for inadequately addressing misinformation. In 2024, researchers reported that false claims originating from Musk received approximately 2 billion views on the platform, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
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