Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk lashed out in court at an opposing lawyer seeking to convince a judge that the Tesla CEO illicitly directed the electric car giant to acquire energy system company SolarCity.
“I think you’re a bad human being,” Musk told attorney Randall Baron, who is representing Tesla shareholders in the lawsuit against the CEO and members of the company’s board, during a trial in Delaware Chancery Court on Monday.
The plaintiffs allege that Musk, who was chairman of both Tesla and SolarCity when the $2.1 million purchase took place, directed the transaction in order to benefit himself, according to the Wall Street Journal. He brought the proposed acquisition to the board in 2016.
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Plaintiffs also argue that SolarCity was in financial dire straits at the time, which they say were not fully represented to them during negotiations over the merger.
Musk said during the nonjury trial that an independent director oversaw the negotiation for the merger and that one of his proposals to finance SolarCity temporarily was denied by Tesla’s negotiators. Other former Tesla board members, who agreed to settle the suit for $60 million in 2020, have denied wrongdoing.
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If Musk loses the case, he could pay as much as $2 billion, according to CNBC.
“SolarCity, I think, would have done just fine by itself, and Tesla would have done fine by itself, but in the long term, they are better together,” Musk said Monday. “And that is what the future will show.”
