PANews reported on March 21 that, according to Reuters, a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on March 20 delivered its verdict in a class-action lawsuit related to Elon Musk's 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now renamed X). The jury found Musk liable for deliberately suppressing Twitter's stock price and misleading investors during the acquisition process, but dismissed charges of orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors.

The trial began on March 2nd, focusing on two tweets and podcast comments Musk made in May 2022. One tweet claimed the acquisition deal was "temporarily suspended" due to an investigation into fake accounts, leading some shareholders to sell their shares at a low price. After nearly four days of deliberation, a nine-person jury ruled that the tweets were misleading, but the podcast comments were not at fault.

The ruling indicates that relevant shareholders could receive $3-8 per share in damages per day. The plaintiffs' lawyers claim Musk may have to pay approximately $2.5 billion, with specific details to be finalized in the coming weeks. This is a rare defeat for Musk, and his legal team has indicated they will appeal. It is understood that Musk announced his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in April 2022, later terminated the agreement, and ultimately completed the transaction at the original price in October.