STORY: Elon Musk has caused a stir several times with his tweets. Statements that the Tesla boss posted in 2018 are now being heard in a class action lawsuit by shareholders of the US electronics manufacturer. The trial in federal court in San Francisco began on Tuesday with jury selection. The focus is on a tweet from Musk that reads: “Consider privatizing Tesla at $420. Funding secured.” The price fluctuations that were triggered would have cost them “billions”, according to the investors. Robert Bartlett, law professor, University of Berkeley: “They bought when the price rose after the news. When the truth came out, it collapsed. To them it was cheating.” The judge has already decided that it was a false statement, says Bartlett. “The main question for the jury will be whether this was legally a false statement that investors would actually act upon? The main line of defense will be that Musk only considered delisting Tesla, which is true . Maybe that’s why the stock price rose so much that day, and that’s why investors bought Tesla shares that day.” The defendants also include seven current and former Tesla executives. You have denied wrongdoing. In the lawsuit, the shareholders are seeking an unspecified amount of damages. The process could take about three weeks.