Elon Musk and Tesla had been discovered not liable by a jury in a San Francisco federal court docket on Friday in a class-action securities fraud trial stemming from tweets Musk made in 2018.

The Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter CEO was sued by Tesla shareholders over a sequence of tweets he wrote in August 2018 saying he had “funding secured” to take the automaker non-public for $420 per share, and that “investor assist” for such a deal was “confirmed.” Buying and selling in Tesla was halted after his tweets, and its share value remained risky for weeks.

Jurors deliberated for lower than two hours earlier than studying their verdict. “We’re disillusioned with the decision and contemplating subsequent steps,” mentioned Nicholas Porritt, companion at Levi & Korsinsky, the agency representing the shareholders within the class motion.

“I’m deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous discovering,” Musk wrote on Twitter.

“He would not suppose forward of time in that rushed second that this may very well be interpreted in a different way and what it means to him,” Musk’s lawyer informed the jury earlier on Friday. “In that second he did not suppose, ‘how may my phrases be interpreted in a different way by you than it means to me.'”

“It’s a must to assess this in context – he is contemplating taking it non-public and the difficulty is will it truly take it ahead,” Musk’s lawyer mentioned. “No fraud has ever been constructed on the again of a consideration.”

Musk’s lead counsel didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

The shareholders within the licensed class motion lawsuit included a mixture of inventory and choices patrons who allege that Musk’s tweets had been reckless and false, and that counting on his statements to make selections about when to purchase or promote value them important quantities of cash.

Musk later claimed that he had a verbal dedication from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and thought funding would come by at his proposed value based mostly on a handshake. Nevertheless, the deal by no means materialized.

Through the course of this trial, Musk additionally mentioned he would have bought shares of SpaceX to finance a going non-public deal for Tesla, in addition to taking funds from the Saudi Public Funding Fund.