• Elon Musk’s alleged threat to take Tesla private through a $72 billion takeover will be the subject of a trial.
• He claimed to have “financing secured” to take the automaker private in a tweet in 2018.
• In response to the tweet, the SEC also fired Mr. Musk as chairman of Tesla.

Elon Musk’s alleged threat to take Tesla private through a $72 billion (£58.7 billion) takeover will be the subject of a trial.

Tesla shareholders are suing Mr. Musk because they claim that he manipulated the company’s share price. He claimed to have “financing secured” to take the automaker private in a tweet in 2018.

Tesla, however, was not taken private and the cash was not guaranteed. After the share price fell, shareholders claimed they had lost billions of dollars as a result of the tweet.

The Tesla CEO, however, said that he did not conduct securities fraud since he thought he had obtained funds from Saudi Arabia’s Investment Fund.

If a San Francisco jury finds in favor of the shareholder, Mr. Musk might be required to make billion-dollar restitution.

He previously paid the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $20 million for the tweet from August 7th, 2018, and Tesla had to pay an additional $20 million.

In response to the tweet, the SEC also fired Mr. Musk as chairman of Tesla.

His post, which demonstrated the incredible power of Twitter’s 140-character limit, has become legendary in Silicon Valley.

Legal experts predicted that Mr. Musk would have a challenging time winning the case and predicted that the SEC fine he paid would be used against him. Jury trials in fraud cases, however, are infamously unpredictable.

Mr. Musk had requested that the trial be transferred to Texas, claiming it would be impossible to find a fair jury in San Francisco.

He said that he was unpopular in the city and that large layoffs at Twitter, a business he acquired last year, had an impact on many San Franciscan employees.

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Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

According to Mr. Musk’s legal team, a sizable majority of prospective jurors expressed a negative opinion of the billionaire.

The judge ruled that the trial will nonetheless proceed in California.

Mr. Musk might testify in court under oath. Media magnate James Murdoch and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison are also listed as witnesses.

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