If the plaintiffs can establish that Musk admits he could have taken Tesla private, that weakens any defense. It makes it more nakedly pumping the stock without

If the plaintiffs can establish that Musk admits he could have taken Tesla private, that weakens any defense. It makes it more nakedly pumping the stock without intent to follow through. Worse, the reason not to follow through on taking Tesla private is based on Elon's own discretion and funding sources he controls: Mr. Musk testified that “funding secured” referred not just to financing from the Saudi fund but also to his stake in SpaceX and subsequently: “This is an extremely important point, and you seem to be deliberately avoiding it,” Mr. Musk said to Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. But under questioning from Mr. Porritt, Mr. Musk acknowledged that he had not mentioned his SpaceX shares as a potential funding source in a 2021 deposition.