Lawyers representing Elon Musk said that the Tesla CEO's 2018 tweet, about taking the company private was "entirely truthful."
In a filing made to the courts, the lawyers said that investors who claim that the tweet was false are in the wrong, and Musk had secured funding from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to take Tesla private at $420 a share.
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“Elon Musk’s August 7, 2018 tweet informing the public that he was considering taking Tesla private was entirely truthful," read the court filing (via Mint) from attorney Alex Spiro.
“Mr. Musk was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share. Funding was secured. There was investor support."
The announcement had caused the company's shares to roar, and prompted the US Securities and Exchange Commission to sue Musk for fraud. The parties settled out of court, with Tesla agreeing to pay $40 million in fines. Musk would also step down as chairman for three years.
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Shareholders and investors claim that the tweet caused the share prices to behave erratically, and caused heavy losses.
The investors now seek a judgement that rules the tweet false, ahead of the trials that are set to start on May 31. The first hearing will happen in March.
In his filing, Spiro said, "Not only did Mr. Musk firmly believe funding was secured when he tweeted, in reality (per Mr. Musk’s discussions with the PIF) it was secured."
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