Elon Musk has requested a federal choose to maneuver his upcoming Tesla shareholder trial out of San Francisco. Per the , , the billionaire’s private lawyer, filed the request late Friday, lower than two weeks earlier than the trial is scheduled to kick off on January seventeenth. Musk’s authorized group argues “a considerable portion” of the potential jury pool in San Francisco is more likely to maintain a bias towards Musk because of current media protection criticizing his actions at Twitter and the . Musk has requested to maneuver the trial to Texas, which has been residence to Tesla headquarters since late 2021.

The category motion lawsuit includes “false and deceptive” statements Musk made in 2018 when he stated he was contemplating taking Tesla personal at $420 per share. Musk’s now-infamous “” tweet landed the billionaire in bother with the US Securities and Change Fee, ultimately resulting in a with the company. The shareholders concerned within the swimsuit gained an early victory final spring when federal choose Edward Chen concluded that Musk had “recklessly made the statements with data as to their falsity.” The upcoming trial will decide whether or not Musk’s tweet affected the automaker’s inventory value and if he needs to be held accountable for potential damages.

“Musk’s considerations are unfounded and his movement is meritless,” Nicholas Porritt, one of many attorneys representing Tesla shareholders, instructed the Related Press. “The Northern District of California is the right venue for this lawsuit and the place it has been actively litigated for over 4 years.” On Saturday, Decide Chen instructed the 2 sides he would hear Musk’s request on January thirteenth.