Former Twitter shareholders have initiated legal action against Elon Musk, alleging that he intentionally depressed the company's stock prices in 2022 as he explored options to withdraw from or renegotiate his $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform. During the final arguments presented in a federal court in San Francisco, attorney Mark Molumphy claimed Musk misled shareholders by publicly questioning the authenticity of Twitter's user accounts on multiple occasions, suggesting that there could be significantly more fake accounts than the company reported.

Molumphy asserted that Musk's actions were akin to fraud, as he implied knowledge of the situation when he signed the merger agreement in April 2022, despite alleging then that Twitter underreported the number of bots. The attorney claimed that Musk's behavior not only harmed the executive team but also led to a substantial decline in stock prices, saying, "He destroyed the company. He destroyed the executives. And he sank the stocks."

In response, Musk's attorney, Michael Lifrak, countered these allegations during his closing statements. They maintained that Musk had no intention of misleading shareholders and that his concerns about bot accounts were legitimate and stemmed from a genuine desire for transparency regarding Twitter’s user base. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for how corporate acquisitions are negotiated and the accountability of high-profile individuals who influence stock markets.