Elon Musk looks on as President Donald Trump speaks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Nov. 19, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
Since buying Twitter for around $44 billion in late 2022, Elon Musk has changed the name to X, merged the social media platform with artificial intelligence startup xAI and then combined that company with his defense contractor, SpaceX.
Musk’s next big step may be to take SpaceX public in what would likely be a record IPO. But first, he has to revisit his past.
On Wednesday, Musk is expected to appear at a federal courthouse in San Francisco to defend himself against allegations that he committed civil securities fraud in the run-up to his purchase of Twitter.
Investors in Twitter filed a class action suit against Musk in October 2022 when — after months of tension and flip-flopping — he finally agreed to buy the social network for $54.20 a share, the price he originally promised in April of that year.
The investors alleged that Musk, now the world’s richest person, engaged in a scheme to weigh down Twitter’s stock in order to pressure the board to sell to him for a lower price. Musk’s attorneys have argued that he never intended to hurt Twitter or its other investors.
A defeat at trial could result in Musk being forced to pay former Twitter investors to make up for their reported losses, and could influence the outcomes in related lawsuits down the line.
The SEC has separately accused Musk of violating financial regulations by failing to disclose his active stake in Twitter as he was preparing to take over the company within a legally required time frame. His offer for Twitter landed a little over a week after Musk revealed a 9.1% stake in the company.
After his bid, Musk used his widely followed account on Twitter, as well as press interviews, to complain about bots, spam and fake accounts on the social network. He also said he would put the deal on hold until the company’s board satisfied demands for more comprehensive internal data than he had previously requested.
Twitter shares dropped after it appeared Musk may back out of the buyout. Investors in the class action claim they sold prematurely at prices below the $54.20 acquisition price because they thought the deal was unraveling.
In another lawsuit, Twitter sued Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery to force him to complete the deal at the price he originally put forward. Musk settled the Delaware suit, buying Twitter and setting the stage for the consolidation of X, xAI and SpaceX, which also owns Starlink, into an entity now valued by private investors at $1.25 trillion.
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