Elon Musk says he is 'deeply appreciative' of the jury that cleared him in the Tesla trial, tweeting 'Thank goodness'
- Elon Musk was cleared Friday by a federal jury over his "funding secured" 2018 tweet to take Tesla private.
- Following the verdict, the billionaire's first words on Twitter were: "Thank goodness."
Elon Musk showed his appreciation for the jurors who cleared him after Tesla investors claimed that his 2018 "funding secured" tweet was meant to intentionally influence investors.
"Thank goodness" the billionaire tweeted late Friday night following the verdict by a federal jury of nine individuals in the civil trial.
"The wisdom of the people has prevailed!" the billionaire added. "I am deeply appreciative of the jury's unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case."
Musk's 2018 tweet, which pushed Tesla's shareholders to launch the costly legal battle against him, read: "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." The jurors were asked to decide whether Musk had purposely misguided investors, as the deal did not go through.
During the trial, Musk's lawyers described a meeting the tech billionaire held with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, an official in Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, where Musk said Al-Rumayyan pledged to help finance the deal to take Tesla private.
Musk told jurors in January that he trusted Al-Rumayyan's verbal promises, which led to the "funding secured" tweet about taking Tesla private. The investors' attorney, Nicholas Porritt of Levi & Korsinsky LLP, refuted Musk's claims and argued that a conversation of that nature would have some written record.
However, Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said in closing arguments that the Tesla founder was being portrayed as a "fire-breathing dragon," and that he couldn't be prosecuted for being a "bad Tweeter."
Musk and Spiro didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.