Court Case Profiles

Records

Elon Musk

Business executive who is chief executive officer of Tesla, Inc. and chief executive officer, chief technology officer and chairman of SpaceX.

FinalLatest source dated 2026-10Last reviewed 2026-10-26

What did the court decide?

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elon Musk

Final
Court
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Case number
1:18-cv-08865
Filed
2018-09-27
Parties
SEC v. Elon Musk

Claims. Securities fraud over August 2018 statements about taking Tesla private.

Decision. Final judgment on consent settlement entered 2018-10-16 ($20 million penalty, chairman step-down, no admission or denial); amended 2019-04-26.[1, 2, 3, 4]

In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation

Decided
Court
U.S. federal district court, San Francisco; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Filed
2018
Parties
Tesla shareholders (class) v. Tesla, Inc., Elon Musk and others

Claims. Investors claimed the August 2018 'funding secured' tweets misled them and caused losses.

Decision. Jury found defendants not liable on 2023-02-03; Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of a new trial on 2024-11-06.[5, 6, 7]

In re Tesla, Inc. Derivative Litigation (Tornetta v. Musk)

Decided
Court
Delaware Court of Chancery; Delaware Supreme Court
Case number
C.A. No. 2018-0408; Del. Supr. Nos. 534, 2024; 10, 2025; 11, 2025; 12, 2025
Filed
2018
Parties
Richard J. Tornetta (derivatively on behalf of Tesla) v. Elon Musk and Tesla directors

Claims. Breach of fiduciary duty in approving Musk's 2018 CEO performance award.

Decision. Chancery ordered rescission (2024-01-30); Delaware Supreme Court reversed the rescission remedy and reinstated the award, awarding $1 nominal damages and revised fees (2025-12-19); Chancery amended final judgment with about $65 million in fees, costs and interest (2026-03-18).[8, 9, 10, 11, 12]

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elon Musk, et al.

Final
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Case number
1:25-cv-00105
Filed
2025-01-14
Parties
SEC v. Elon Musk and the Elon Musk Revocable Trust dated July 22, 2003

Claims. Failure to timely file a beneficial ownership report after acquiring more than 5% of Twitter stock in 2022 (Exchange Act Section 13(d), Rule 13d-1).

Decision. Consent settlement approved 2026-07-08: $1.5 million penalty against the Trust, without admitting or denying; claims against Musk personally to be dismissed under the SEC's proposed terms.[13, 14, 15, 16, 17]

Pampena v. Musk

On appeal
Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Parties
Giuseppe Pampena and a class of Twitter investors v. Elon Musk

Claims. Securities fraud over two May 2022 statements about Musk's pending Twitter acquisition.

Decision. Jury verdict for the class on 2026-03-20; partial judgment against Musk 2026-04-03; judgment as a matter of law granted for Musk on one statement 2026-07-06; appeal filed 2026-07-30.[4, 18, 19]

Sources

  1. Elon Musk Charged With Securities Fraud for Misleading Tweets (Press Release 2018-219)U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2018-09-27, primary source
  2. Complaint, SEC v. Elon Musk, No. 1:18-cv-08865 (S.D.N.Y.)U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2018-09-27, primary source
  3. Elon Musk Settles SEC Fraud Charges; Tesla Charged With and Resolves Securities Law Charge (Press Release 2018-226)U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2018-09-29, primary source
  4. Tesla, Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)Tesla, Inc. / U.S. SEC EDGAR, 2026-10, primary source
  5. Elon Musk found not liable in trial over 2018 Tesla take-private tweets (Reuters)Reuters, via Kitco, 2023-02-03, secondary source
  6. 9th Circ. Says No New Trial For Tesla Investors' SuitLaw360, 2024-11-06, secondary source
  7. Court upholds verdict clearing Elon Musk and Tesla over 2018 'funding secured' tweetDrive Tesla Canada (citing Reuters), 2024-11, secondary source
  8. In re Tesla, Inc. Derivative Litigation, Delaware Supreme Court opinion (per curiam)Delaware Supreme Court (copy hosted by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann), 2025-12-19, primary source
  9. Delaware Supreme Court Reverses the Remedy Applied by the Court of Chancery in In re Tesla, Inc. Derivative LitigationAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, 2025-12, secondary source
  10. Delaware Reinstates Musk's Pay Package, Slashes $345 Million Fee AwardGibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 2025-12, secondary source
  11. Tesla (Tornetta v. Musk) case pageBernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann (plaintiff's counsel), secondary source
  12. Tesla, Inc. Form 10-K/A for fiscal year 2025 (Amendment No. 1)Tesla, Inc. / U.S. SEC EDGAR, 2026, primary source
  13. Litigation Release No. 26219: SEC v. Elon MuskU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025-01-14, primary source
  14. Litigation Release No. 26548: Elon Musk and Elon Musk Revocable Trust Dated July 22, 2003U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026-05-04, primary source
  15. US judge approves Elon Musk settlement with SEC despite misgivings, 'red flags' (Reuters)Reuters, via The Star, 2026-07-08, secondary source
  16. U.S. Judge Allows SEC-Musk Deal Despite 'Significant Misgivings' (Bloomberg)Bloomberg, via CPA Practice Advisor, 2026-07-09, secondary source
  17. Judge approves Elon Musk's SEC settlement over Twitter disclosures despite 'red flags'Fortune, 2026-07-09, secondary source
  18. US jury finds Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders (AFP)AFP, via Eyewitness News, 2026-03-21, secondary source
  19. Elon Musk misled Twitter investors ahead of acquisition, jury saysFox Business, 2026-03-20, secondary source

Change history

  • 2026-10-26 Record published.

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