Elon Musk asks court docket to maneuver Tesla shareholder trial to Texas over potential juror bias

Elon Musk has requested a federal decide to maneuver his upcoming Tesla shareholder trial out of San Francisco. Per the , , the billionaire’s private lawyer, filed the request late Friday, lower than two weeks earlier than the trial is scheduled to kick off on January seventeenth. Musk’s authorized staff argues “a considerable portion” of the potential jury pool in San Francisco is prone to maintain a bias towards Musk as a result of latest media protection criticizing his actions at Twitter and the . Musk has requested to maneuver the trial to Texas, which has been dwelling to Tesla headquarters since late 2021.

The category motion lawsuit entails “false and deceptive” statements Musk made in 2018 when he mentioned he was contemplating taking Tesla non-public at $420 per share. Musk’s now-infamous “” tweet landed the billionaire in bother with the US Securities and Alternate Fee, ultimately resulting in a with the company. The shareholders concerned within the go well with won an early victory final spring when federal decide Edward Chen concluded that Musk had “recklessly made the statements with information as to their falsity.” The upcoming trial will decide whether or not Musk’s tweet affected the automaker’s inventory worth and if he ought to be held accountable for potential damages.

“Musk’s issues are unfounded and his movement is meritless,” Nicholas Porritt, one of many attorneys representing Tesla shareholders, instructed the Related Press. “The Northern District of California is the right venue for this lawsuit and the place it has been actively litigated for over 4 years.” On Saturday, Choose Chen instructed the 2 sides he would hear Musk’s request on January thirteenth.