Elon Musk claims 'judicial bias' forced his $44 billion Twitter takeover

Elon Musk has appeared in a San Francisco courtroom to defend his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, claiming his lawyers warned him that a fair trial in Delaware was impossible.

The Tesla CEO testified to jurors that his legal team described Chief Judge Kathaleen St J. McCormick as "extremely biased" against him, advising that he was unlikely to prevail in his attempt to abandon the 2022 takeover.

The high-profile testimony addresses allegations from investors that Musk manipulated stock prices through critical social media posts to facilitate a cheaper buyout.

Musk denied these claims, asserting his tweets were merely personal opinions with negligible market impact.

His distrust of the Delaware judiciary stems from prior rulings, including the 2018 invalidation of his Tesla pay package, which was later overturned by the Delaware Supreme Court.

This legal friction prompted Musk to relocate his corporate headquarters to Texas, a trend followed by firms such as Dropbox.

In response, Delaware has introduced legislation to protect its status as a corporate hub, which currently hosts over 60% of Fortune 500 companies.

The jury must now decide if Musk’s public statements constituted a fraud against investors or if they were protected speech.

The case highlights the escalating tension between influential tech leaders and the traditional legal frameworks governing American corporate interests.