“His lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose millions and millions of dollars,” Nicholas Porritt, an attorney for Mr. Littleton, said of Mr. Musk during opening statements Wednesday.
Alex Spiro, an attorney for the defendants, described Mr. Musk’s tweets as shorthand and “funding secured” as a throwaway term that, while technically inaccurate, didn’t differ enough from the actual state of affairs to matter to the market.
“This was not fraud. Not even close,” Mr. Spiro said. “Not all deals that are considered come to pass.”
Mr. Musk, who could testify as early as this week, has said in court filings that he believed he had support from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund to take Tesla private.
Source: Elon Musk Trial Opens to Debate Over Nature of Tesla Tweets – WSJ