The tweet sent shares in Tesla soaring, but weeks later they fell back when Mr Musk said the plan was no longer going ahead, causing a significant backlash for the billionaire.

At the jury trial in a San Francisco court on Tuesday, Mr Musk and his attorney argued that the deal was seriously considered for about two weeks, with discussions with major investors and other firms.

Mr Musk said he eventually scrapped the plan after his discussions with smaller investors led him to believe they would prefer that the firm remain publicly traded on the stock market.

"I felt it was important to be responsive to their wishes," he said, later citing a letter he received from Cathie Wood, chief executive of Ark Investment, a firm that manages billions of dollars worth in assets.

Mr Musk said he thought sharing his consideration of the potential buyout was the "right thing" to do because he was worried an article in the Financial Times about Saudi Arabia's stake in the company would put ordinary investors at a disadvantage.

Mr Musk, who bought the social media platform Twitter for $44bn last year, had told the court on Friday that he did not think that his tweets had affected Tesla's share price.