Elon Musk defends Tesla buyout tweets in civil court case

Mr Musk’s latest headache stems from the inherent brevity on Twitter, a service that he has been running since completing his 44 billion dollar purchase of it in October

In this courtroom sketch, Elon Musk appears in federal court in San Francisco, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. Musk took the witness stand to defend a 2018 tweet claiming he had lined up the financing to take Tesla private in a deal that never came close to happening (Vicki Behringer via AP/PA)

Elon Musk went into the witness box on Friday to defend a 2018 tweet claiming he had lined up the financing to take Tesla private in a deal that never came close to happening.

The tweet resulted in a 40 million dollar (£32 million) settlement with securities regulators. It also led to a class-action lawsuit alleging he misled investors, pulling him into court for about half an hour on Friday to deliver sworn testimony in front of a nine-person jury and a full room of media and other spectators.