The judge says Elon’s trial should take place on Twitter’s Home Turf
A judge told Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his lawyer that, no, the court will not move his upcoming securities fraud trial from San Francisco even if there are a diminishing number of people in the Bay Area with a favorable opinion of the owner of Twitter.
On Friday, federal Judge Edward Chen dismissed a claim that a San Francisco district jury was biased against him. Tesla’s CEO was accused by Tesla investors of securities fraud when Musk tweeted in 2018 about electricity grabs. Private car company. Tesla investors claimed that Musk’s tweets were “indisputably wrong” and cost them billions when Tesla’s stock experienced massive market swings. The trial is scheduled to begin January 17.
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Last week, Musk’s lawyers argue That 82% of potential jurors don’t like the CEO of Tesla very much. This was based on a series of questionnaires from 200 potential jurors. They also argued that Twitter’s mass layoffs, and their impact on former employees’ friends and families, “affected a large portion of the jury group.”
According to Bloomberg, Musks’ attorney has called the recent reports on him and the ongoing chaos on Twitter “personal assassinations,” particularly the reports regarding Mass shooting that have occurred in the company since Musk took office last October. As far as recent reports go, the company Did not stop Layoffs.
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The lawyers then argued that Musk’s trial could be moved over to Austin, Texas. The state just so happens to be where Musk relocated Tesla after originally founding the company in Silicon Valley. Musk’s rocket company SpaceX is also based out of the Lone Star State, but Chen reportedly said that Austin has no material connection with the ongoing lawsuit.
Chen told the court that he was sure that they can find an impartial jury panel. According to The Washington PostThe judge found that there were conflicting opinions about Musk and Tesla among the jurors. bloomberg I mentioned that Chen believes there are plenty of examples of fair juries in controversial cases. He pointed to the “unbiased” jury of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was recently Rule to just over 11 years in prison in a massive case of fraud.
Although Musk may still be afraid of him final appearance In front of a San Francisco crowd during a live comedy show with comedian Dave Chappelle. The crowd mercilessly booed the Twitter owner after he took to the stage. Chappelle then joked that a large number of the audience may have been ex-Twitter employees.
But beyond Twitter, Tesla has faced other malicious allegations, including lawsuits alleging massive existence The cycle of racial abuse at the company’s Northern California plant.
Musk has soured heavily in California in recent years. Musk’s politics are somewhat murky, but since moving to Texas, his public statements have centered around it Republican supporteven after He took over as the head of Twitter.
Musk alleged that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which remains a major investor in Twitter, agreed to support him in taking Tesla private. It can be difficult to argue in court, eg Bloomberg Law I mentioned the head of the fund Yasir Al-Rumayyan He argued that he is not obligated to testify at Musk’s trial.