Case Spotlight: Rare Jury Verdict – $2.6 Billion on the Table for Twitter Investors

Case at a Glance

Case:  Pampena v. Musk, No. 3:22-cv-05937-CRB
Court:  U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco)
Class period: May 13, 2022 – October 4, 2022
Eligible securities: Twitter common stock sold; call options sold; put options purchased
Recovery per share: $2.98 – $8.44, depending on specific trades
Estimated total distribution: Potentially in excess of $2.6 billion
Claims administrator: Epiq Systems, Inc.
Claims deadline: November 24, 2026

What happened: A jury found Musk misled Twitter investors

This case is noteworthy not only because it shows the potential dangers of tweeting by public figures such as Elon Musk, but because it is a securities class action that proceeded to jury trial and resulted in a verdict—rather than ending through the more typical settlement process. Trial began in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on March 2, 2026 and the jury returned its verdict on March 20, 2026. The claims administrator is now accepting investor claims to participate in this recovery until November 24, 2026.

The case arose from Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now “X”) and public statements he made while negotiations with the company were ongoing. On May 13, 2022, Musk wrote in a tweet that the Twitter deal was “temporarily on hold” due to doubts he had about Twitter’s disclosed level of fake Twitter accounts, which the company reported as 5% in SEC filings, but which Musk suggested were higher. On May 17, Musk tweeted that the deal “cannot move forward” without proof regarding the fake accounts. Those tweets allegedly caused Twitter’s share price to decline by more than 40%.

Plaintiffs brought a class action and argued that Musk’s remarks were part of a scheme to depress the company’s share price and pressure the company’s board to sell to him for a lower price than his original offer. After a 3-week trial, the jury found that Musk violated securities laws by making false and misleading statements in his tweets about the acquisition and that investors suffered as a result of these statements, but rejected the allegations that it was part of an intentional scheme to defraud investors and absolved him of liability for statements he made on a podcast as his personal opinion. After trial, the judge granted judgment as a matter of law for Musk that the May 17 tweet did not cause any investor losses. But the jury’s ruling regarding the May 13 tweet was upheld and the court rejected Musk’s other post-trial challenges and approved the class notice and claims.

Who can file a claim and what it’s worth?

Investors are eligible to recover if they sold Twitter stock or call options, or purchased Twitter put options, during the relevant class period of May 13, 2022 through October 4, 2022 and suffered damages.

How much can I recover per share?

Shareholders can recover between $2.98 and $8.44 per share, depending on their specific trades. It’s difficult to anticipate the total distribution amount, but based on the plan of allocation it could be in excess of $2.6 billion, a significant recovery for investors.

How are options damages calculated?

It is unusual for options to be part of securities class actions recoveries, but here such investors can also recover, with damages calculated by multiplying the number of call options sold or put options purchased on a given day by the jury-awarded per-option damages for that day.

Why this case is unusual in securities litigation?

From a securities-litigation perspective, the case is notable because jury verdicts in securities class actions are rare, with fewer than 30 securities class actions having gone to trial out of more than 7,000 filed since 1995. It also underscores that social-media statements by high-profile deal participants can impact the market and create securities-law exposure, particularly during sensitive M&A negotiations.

Unlike a traditional settlement fund, the claims process here follows a jury verdict and judgment, with damages tied to jury-determined artificial deflation amounts and options damages.

Key deadlines and next steps

Claims must be submitted to the administrator by November 24, 2026. Investors who sold Twitter stock or call options, or purchased put options, during the May 13 – October 4, 2022 class period should begin gathering trade documentation now, as claims require transaction-level detail rather than a simple certification of ownership.

FRT Clients should contact their Service Account Manager or email us at learnmore@frtservices.com with any questions about this case.