Calmer Musk than on the First Day? ... Two-Day SolarCity Trial Concludes

Tesla's Acquisition of 'SolarCity' Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit
Musk Calls Plaintiff a "Bad Person" in Opening Arguments
Bloomberg: "Musk Barely Held Back Anger on Second Day"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, leaving the courtroom on the 13th (local time) after the trial [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, concluded a two-day hearing in a shareholder derivative lawsuit concerning the 2016 acquisition of SolarCity.

On the 13th (local time), Musk testified as a defendant at the Delaware Court of Chancery in Wilmington, which handles corporate litigation in the United States.

This trial stems from a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Tesla minority shareholders.

The plaintiffs argue that Tesla suffered losses of up to $2.6 billion (approximately 3 trillion KRW) due to the SolarCity acquisition decision, and that Musk should reimburse this amount to the company.

The core claim was that Musk, as the controlling shareholder who dominated Tesla’s board, played a decisive role in acquiring the financially troubled SolarCity, which was struggling with funding shortages.

Plaintiff’s attorney Randal Baron called Musk to the witness stand for eight hours over two days and aggressively pressed him.

Musk reacted strongly to Baron’s questioning, clashing with him repeatedly.

On the first day of the hearing, Musk snapped at Baron, calling him a "bad person."

He cited examples of poor legal representation from law firms Baron had worked at, saying, "You have been guided by criminals. I have great respect for the court, but not for you."

He also claimed that he did not control Tesla’s board and that he reluctantly took on the CEO role to save the company.

He said, "I did not want to be Tesla’s CEO, but I had no choice. If I hadn’t taken the role, Tesla would have disappeared."

On the second day, Musk continued to spar with Baron but reportedly adopted a less emotional tone, according to foreign media.

Bloomberg reported that Musk "barely held back his anger" during the second day of testimony.

On that day, Baron presented evidence to support the claim that Musk led the SolarCity acquisition, showing documents indicating that Musk held daily strategy meetings described as a "conspiracy cabal."

Musk countered by calling the claim "deceptive" and emphasized that he played no "physical role" when Tesla’s board decided on the SolarCity acquisition.

Baron also raised suspicions that Musk personally proposed the acquisition price for SolarCity. According to Baron, Musk suggested acquiring SolarCity at $28.5 per share to Tesla’s board. As evidence, he presented a memo written by a Tesla official documenting this.

In fact, Tesla’s board set the acquisition price range between $26.5 and $28.5 per share.

Musk completely denied the allegation that he designated the acquisition price.

Musk’s brother and Tesla board member, Kimbal Musk, also appeared at the trial.

Kimbal Musk rebutted by saying, "Tesla’s board is very healthy compared to those of other companies I have been involved with," and denied that his brother controlled Tesla.

The Delaware Court of Chancery will conduct hearings over the next two weeks before issuing a final ruling.

If Musk loses, CNBC reported that he may have to pay Tesla more than $2 billion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.