Elon Musk sued over delay in disclosing Twitter stake

The Tesla CEO made “materially false and misleading statements and omissions”, claim shareholders.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was sued on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, by former Twitter Inc shareholders who claim they missed out on the recent run-up in its stock price because he waited too long to disclose a 9.2% stake in the social media company.

In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, the shareholders said Mr. Musk, the chief executive of electric car company Tesla Inc, made "materially false and misleading statements and omissions" by failing to reveal he had invested in Twitter by March 24 as required under federal law.

Twitter shares rose 27% on April 4, to $49.97 from $39.31, after Mr. Musk disclosed his stake, which investors viewed as a vote of confidence from the world's richest person in San Francisco-based Twitter.

Former shareholders led by Marc Rasella said the delayed disclosure let Mr. Musk buy more Twitter shares at lower prices, while defrauding them into selling at "artificially deflated" prices.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A lawyer for Mr. Musk had no immediate comment. Tesla is not a defendant.

U.S. securities law requires investors to disclose within 10 days when they have acquired 5% of a company, which in Mr. Musk's case would have been March 24.