A San Francisco jury ruled Friday that Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders during his contentious $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022.

The jury determined that Musk's actions, including specific tweets and podcast comments, constituted deliberate fraud against shareholders and artificially drove down Twitter's stock price ahead of the takeover.

The case centered on communications Musk made during the prolonged acquisition process, which began in early 2022 and concluded in October of that year when he officially purchased the company and rebranded it as X.

The verdict addresses shareholder allegations that Musk's public statements and social media posts during the takeover period were designed to manipulate the stock price to his advantage during negotiations.

The acquisition process was marked by legal battles, with Musk initially attempting to withdraw his offer before ultimately being compelled to complete the purchase at the agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share.