Elon Musk acknowledged his tweet putting the $44 billion Twitter acquisition "temporarily on hold" may not have been his wisest as he defended against market manipulation allegations in San Francisco. The world's richest man claimed his posts during the takeover battle weren't meant to manipulate Twitter's stock price, despite investors claiming they lost money after Musk threatened to walk away from the deal.

The tweet caused Twitter's stock to fall 9% when markets opened. Evidence showed Barclays bankers had suggested Musk use a "rope a dope" strategy to get a lower price. Twitter shares eventually fell to just above $30, a third below the deal price, before the acquisition closed on its original terms at $54.20 per share after the company's board sued Musk to complete the deal.

Musk denied the allegations in court, claiming he was "simply speaking his mind" about platform concerns. The trial marks the latest legal scrutiny of Musk's prolific use of Twitter, which he has rebranded as X. Musk grew frustrated during questioning, accusing lawyers of formulating questions "designed to mislead the jury" and claiming he works "100 hours a week" with an "insane workload."