* Tech * News * Elon Musk # Jury finds Elon Musk’s ‘stupid tweets’ caused Twitter investors’ losses Musk’s tweets about spam and bots caused some investors to sell shares for less than the final price. Musk’s tweets about spam and bots caused some investors to sell shares for less than the final price. by Jay Peters Mar 20, 2026, 11:46 PM UTC Illustration: Laura Normand / The Verge [](/authors/jay-peters) Jay Peters is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. A California jury determined that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors before making a $44 billion deal to buy the company in 2022, [reports CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/20/elon-musk-determined-to-be-liable-for-misleading-twitter-investors.html). _The New York Times_ [reports that](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/technology/elon-musk-twitter-shareholders-verdict.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share) Musk had testified this month that he didn’t believe his posts would spook markets, but he did say that “If this was a trial about whether I made stupid tweets, I would say I’m guilty.” CNBC reports Musk’s attorneys are expected to file an appeal, as damages could reach as high as $2.6 billion, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs. While finding that Musk did not engage in a specific scheme to defraud shareholders, the jury cited two of Musk’s tweets, from May 13th and May 27th, 2022, as materially false or misleading, causing some investors to sell shares in Twitter at values below the $54.20 per share bid. [May 13th, 2022](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1525049369552048129): > Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users [May 27th, 2022](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1526465624326782976): > 20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher. > > My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. > > Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. > > This deal cannot move forward until he does. Musk [tried to back out](/2022/7/8/23200961/elon-musk-files-back-out-twitter-deal-breach-of-contract) of his agreement in July, but after [months of legal wrangling](/23026874/elon-musk-twitter-buyout-news-updates), as he accused Twitter and its execs of committing fraud, he agreed to close the deal at the original price in [early October 2022](/2022/10/4/23387320/elon-musk-twitter-offer-buy-again%5C). Investors filed their class action lawsuit against Musk [shortly after](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65412803/1/giuseppe-pampena-v-elon-rmusk/). **Follow topics and authors** from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. * Jay Peters * Elon Musk * News * Tech * Twitter - X