Elon Musk is facing trial for claiming he would sell Tesla for $420 a share in 2018.
Elon Musk is facing a lawsuit that could cost him billions of dollars.
A tweet from the billionaire in August 2018, in which he claimed he had the capital to turn Tesla into a private company, is at the center of the controversy.
Tesla investors who lost money due to the market reaction to Elon Musk ‘s announcement say that the South African made the tweet without actually having the necessary financing for such an operation.
Elon Musk and 420
Musk assured on that occasion that he was going to receive $420 for each Tesla share , a key detail in this case.
Using 420 as a value would not be a coincidence. This number is related to marijuana use . This may have been a prank to amuse his then-girlfriend, the artist Grimes .
During the trial, Elon Musk denied his tweet was a joke. “I think there is a karma around 420,” he said.
In a Grimes chat with Azaelia Banks, Musk ‘s ex-girlfriend said the tycoon estimated Tesla shares were worth $419, but rounded it up to $420 for a laugh.
Elon Musk referenced “420” again when he bought Twitter . On that occasion, he valued each share at $54.20, which ended up costing him $44 billion to acquire the social network.
In the past, Elon Musk has also had problems related to marijuana. In 2018 he appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he smoked marijuana. This caused him problems with NASA , which has his company SpaceX as one of its main contractors.