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Elon Musk’s ‘funding secured’ Tweet draws skeptical reaction from judge in hearing

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Elon Musk’s 2018 Twitter post that implied he had secured funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to take Tesla shares private at $420 per share drew a skeptical reaction from a United States District Court Judge on Thursday.

During a court hearing on March 10, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen was skeptical of whether the Tweet was actually true based on Musk’s assertions that funding was secured to take Tesla private at $420 per share. “It seems to me it’s not factually very complicated,” Judge Chen said, according to a new report from Bloomberg. In fact, “funding had not been secured,” he added.

Tesla and Musk could now be headed to court for a legal battle with shareholders who claim they lost billions of dollars when shares declined after the CEO said he was considering taking the company’s shares private.

Now, lawyers on both sides are fighting to prove whether the statement was “indisputably false,” as the shareholder’s attorneys state, or if it was “entirely truthful,” like Musk’s lawyers, including Alex Spiro, said.

Bloomberg adds that Judge Chen is being asked by investors to decide a couple of key legal issues on his own without the help of a jury. If Chen obliges with their requests, the trial would focus only on Musk’s Tweets and how they directly contributed to losses they assumed. Shareholder attorneys will have to prove that the losses came directly as a result of Musk’s communications, which were required to be regulated following a 2018 SEC settlement.

Earlier this week, Musk said, “I never lied to shareholders,” regarding the decree he agreed to in 2018. “I entered into the consent decree for the survival of Tesla, for the sake of its shareholders.”

Spiro, who has represented Musk in several cases, said he the overanalysis of the CEO’s Tweets could be an issue. “I do worry about dissecting it too much,” Sprio said to Judge Chen. Additionally, Spiro says that Tesla’s track record of accumulating investors and funding was never an issue. “None of Mr. Musk’s deals have ever had a funding issue.” Spiro added that investors may have interpreted the Tweet to mean “Elon might be making a bid to take it private.”

This claim was countered by Nicholas Porritt, the shareholders’ attorney, who said Musk’s use of the word secured is pretty clear. “Secured means it’s in the bag, it’s locked and loaded.” Porritt added that Musk never spoke to additional investors, and the Saudi fund was only going to take a small stake in the transaction. “The whole thing was so tentative, so pie in the sky at this point in time, that he never had an idea of how much money,” he said.

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Judge Chen seemed to side with Porritt’s idea, as no conditions, pricing, or additional details that would make the deal concrete were finalized. “It seemed quite preliminary,” Judge Chen said, adding that he’d issue a final ruling at a later date.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Giga Berlin makes big move amid strong sales and demand

“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Tesla is making a big move at its factory in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, as managers at the plant have indicated the company plans to increase its production rate for the remainder of the year.

Giga Berlin is responsible for manufacturing Model Y vehicles for several markets worldwide, including those outside of Europe. It was opened in March 2022, and it recently built its 500,000th Model Y in March and its 100,000th new Model Y just three weeks ago.

Due to some encouraging sales figures in the markets it provides vehicles for, Tesla said it is planning to increase production at the factory for the remainder of the year.

Andrè Thierig, plant manager at Giga Berlin, said to German news outlet DPA on Sunday that market data has encouraged a move to be made regarding the production at the factory:

“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

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It is interesting to see this kind of narrative from Thierig, especially as data has shown Tesla has struggled in various markets, including Germany, this year.

Sales drops have been reported, but other markets are holding strong, especially those in Northern Europe, such as Norway, where the Model Y saw a nearly 39 percent increase in sales in August compared to the same month the previous year.

Tesla Model Y leads sales rush in Norway in August 2025

Gigafactory Berlin supplies vehicles for other markets, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are strategically important to avoid tariffs. It also builds cars for the Middle East.

Thierig reiterated this point during the interview with DPA:

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“We supply well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there.”

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Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.

One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Dorsheimer said in the note:

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”

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Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.

He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.

Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.

In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:

“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”

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Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.

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Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas dubs Tesla FSD a “game changer” after marathon drive

Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Morgan Stanley’s analyst Adam Jonas shared a notable endorsement of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software after completing a 1,400-mile round trip from New York to Michigan in his Model Y. 

Jonas reported that FSD handled more than 99% of the miles, calling the system “a game changer” for long-distance driving.

Hands-free experience

Jonas drove his 2021 Tesla Model Y equipped with Hardware 3 and FSD Supervised v12.6.4, and he used the system nearly the entire trip. “Having your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals for nearly 12 hours of driving is a real game changer that is hard to appreciate without experiencing it for yourself,” he noted.

He explained that outside of two heavy downpours, one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and another in suburban Detroit, plus some light maneuvering in fast food parking lots, FSD handled the drive without any human intervention. “FSD made no mistakes or close calls that I recall. The system handles highways very safely and confidently. I cannot imagine buying another EV without FSD.”

Broader implications

Jonas added that he has used FSD consistently over the past 18 months, and the $8,000 he paid for the feature feels like a bargain considering the value. He also praised Tesla’s Supercharging network, which supported his trip without issue.

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Jonas has been one of Wall Street’s most closely followed voices on Tesla, and his comments add weight to the ongoing debate about the role of autonomy in the company’s future. His current price target for Tesla stock stands at $410. During Morgan Stanley’s 13th Annual Laguna Conference, he echoed similar experiences with Tesla’s software, emphasizing that FSD “probably drove well over 99% of the miles” on his recent trips.

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