Elon Musk’s enigmatic nature and unorthodox strategies are coming to light as major exhibits in a trial centered on one of his most divisive hobbies: tweeting.
The 51-year-old billionaire was drawn into the trial, which was based on a pair of tweets declaring Musk had secured the funding to take Tesla private in 2018, into a federal courtroom in San Francisco for three days of testimony that provided a glimpse into his frequently enigmatic mind.
During his almost eight hours on the witness stand, Musk, who now owns the Twitter site that he uses as his megaphone, was frequently a study in contrasts. Tesla shareholders have filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm’s CEO after Elon Musk tweeted about a business acquisition that never materialized.
Musk came across as impulsive, brash, combative, and contemptuous of anyone who questioned his motives through both his testimony and the supporting documentation. Musk is a game-changing entrepreneur who has drawn comparisons to the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple.
Other times, Musk seemed like the astute visionary his fans laud him to be—an adventurous renegade who, by his own reckoning, has raised more than $100 billion from investors. His management of trailblazing businesses like PayPal in digital payments, Tesla in electric cars, and SpaceX in rocket ships has amply rewarded them.
