Tesla investors lose bid for new US trial over Musk's 2018 tweets

Tesla, X (formerly known as Twitter) and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk attends the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jury's verdict clearing Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his company of liability over allegations they misled investors when the billionaire posted on social media in 2018 that he had "funding secured" to take the electric car company private.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by lawyers for Tesla investors that the instructions jurors received on the law from the judge presiding over the case before they delivered their verdict in February 2023 were flawed, warranting a new trial.