Elon Musk said in court that his decision to take Tesla private at $420 per share was just a coincidence and not a weed joke.
According to The Verge, Musk was asked in the ongoing securities fraud trial about if his “$420 per share price” was a weed joke intended to win over his girlfriend.
“You rounded up to 420 because you thought that would be a joke that your girlfriend will enjoy, isn’t that correct?” asked Nicholas Porritt, an attorney for a class of Tesla investors.
“No. I think karma is around 420. I should question whether that is good or bad karma at this point,” replied Musk.
The CEOs of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter claimed that the number 420 was not chosen as a joke.
“It was chosen because there was a 20 per cent premium over the stock price,” said Musk.
In the cannabis community, the terms “420,” “4:20,” and “4/20” (pronounced “four twenty”) refer to the use of hashish and marijuana.
Musk said last week that while tweeting about Tesla getting finance in 2018, he disregarded his advisers and investors.
Musk’s infamous statements from 2018 about taking Tesla private are now coming back to haunt him, and he stands to lose billions.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk’s tweets on taking Tesla private, in which he claimed to have “funding secured,” cost them millions of dollars.
Musk tweeted in August 2018: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”
“Shareholders could either sell at 420 or hold shares & go private,” he added.
His controversial tweet cost him his position as Chairman of Tesla.
