Vicki Behringer/Reuters
- Elon Musk testified Monday in trial sparked by shareholder allegations the Tesla CEO committed securities fraud.
- He said Saudi investors sent "ass-covering" texts and he planned to sell SpaceX stock to take Tesla private.
- Here are 11 things we've learned about Musk and the "funding secured" tweet at the heart of the lawsuit.
Elon Musk took the stand again Tuesday to defend himself in an ongoing trial sparked by a class-action shareholder lawsuit that alleges the Tesla CEO committed securities fraud.
Investors suing Musk have accused the world's second-richest man of illegally manipulating Tesla's stock price in 2018 when he tweeted he had "funding secured" to take the company private at $420 a share.
Here are 11 things we've learned in the San Francisco trial, from Musk's testimony so far.
Cathie Wood told Musk that Tesla investors wouldn't support his plans
On Tuesday, Musk told a court he had scrapped his plans to take Tesla private at $420 a share after a letter from Ark Invest CIO and longtime Tesla bull Cathie Wood showed him that investors wouldn't like the move.
Wood's views "represent small investors", Musk said, adding that he "felt it was important to be responsive to their wishes."
Musk never had a specific number in mind for how much it would cost to take Tesla private
Musk sidestepped simple "yes" or "no" responses to questions raised by Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer for the investors, about securing funding pledges by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund – prompting the judge to step in and ask whether a specific dollar amount, rather than concepts, were discussed.
"Not a specific number," Musk said Tuesday.
Musk thought a handshake deal meant Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund would back taking Tesla private
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is the governor of the $620 billion wealth fund, is a central figure in the ongoing trial. Musk thought a handshake with Al-Rumayyan meant the Saudi fund was willing to give him the necessary backing to take Tesla private, he told the court Monday.
"A signed document is neither here nor there," he said. "If they say they're going to do something, they do it."
Musk described Al-Rumayyan as "ass-covering" in later texts backpedaling on the move
Private texts disclosed in previous court filings show Musk slamming Al-Rumayyan for backing away from the deal. The Tesla boss described the PIF governor saying there had been no signed deal as "ass-covering, for lack of a better word".
Musk planned to sell SpaceX stock when he said he had "funding secured"
The Tesla CEO said he counted on selling stock in the space technology company to take the carmaker private in 2018. He compared the potential sale to his recent offloading of Tesla shares to fund his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.
"SpaceX stock alone meant 'funding secured' by itself," he told lawyers in cross-examination Monday. "It's not that I want to sell SpaceX stock, but I could have, and if you look at the Twitter transaction — that is what I did."
Google wanted to purchase Tesla
Tech giant Google had previously had a "standing interest" in buying the electric-vehicle maker, which encouraged him to try taking the company private with Saudi funds, Musk testified. He pointed to the interest from Google's parent Alphabet laid down in an earlier deposition.
There's a reason Musk wanted to take Tesla private at $420 a share
The $420 price wasn't a marijuana reference meant for entertain his then-girlfriend Grimes, Musk said, but a 20% premium on Tesla's stock at the time. But he did say the number has some significance.
"There is some, I think, karma around 420," he told the court. "I should question whether that is good or bad karma at this point."
Musk sought out advice from Dell's founder as he considered selling Tesla
Michael Dell, who took his own tech company private in 2013, was "unequivocal" that privatizing Tesla was a good idea, according to Musk. He also said he'd discussed the buyout at a dinner with Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in 2017.
Musk really dislikes short-sellers
In testimony on Friday, the billionaire called for a ban on short-selling, which is when investors make a bet that an asset will fall to a lower price.
"I believe short-selling should be made illegal," he said. "It is a means for, in my opinion, bad people on Wall Street to steal money from small investors. Not good."
Musk doesn't think Tesla shareholders want him to leave Twitter
In October 2018, billionaire Tesla shareholder Ron Baron said investors would benefit from Musk tweeting less. Musk said that referenced his string of controversial comments on current affairs, rather than tweets about Tesla itself.
"He's not saying 'don't use Twitter'," Musk said Friday. "He's saying I shouldn't respond to criticism in the news on Twitter."
But Musk doesn't believe his own tweets ever affect Tesla's share price: Musk is one of the most active CEOs on Twitter – and in October he took the social-media company private in a chaotic takeover deal. But he doesn't believe that his tweets actually move markets.
"Just because I tweet something does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly," he said Friday.