Elon Musk has asked the judge to move the upcoming trial of a shareholder lawsuit from San Francisco, citing concerns that the jury may have bias against him, such as Reported earlier by CNBC. in Friday depositMusk is asking the judge to move the trial to West Texas because of “domestic negativity” in the Bay Area surrounding Elon Musk and his business, which is preventing a fair trial.
“Recent local media coverage has created an environment that encourages county juries to hold negative bias against Mr. Musk’s use of Twitter,” the filing states. Potential jurors who hold negative opinions about Mr. Musk’s use of, and relationship with, Twitter more generally as a result of this coverage will not be able to separate that underlying bias from the facts in this case, and therefore will not be able to impartially assess Musk’s conduct.
The filing alleges that Musk’s mass layoffs on Twitter “already created significant bias” in the local jury.
It also claims that Musk and his offices in San Francisco are often the subject of protests that are “encouraged” by local politicians, which reinforces this “bias” and results in an unfair trial. If the judge decides not to move the trial to Texas, where Tesla is based, Musk and his lawyers are asking for a postponement of the trial to allow the “negative feelings” surrounding Musk to dissipate.
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