Elon Musk's attorneys argue his Twitter purchase has caused so much 'local negativity' that a class action trial should be moved from California to Texas

In a recent court filing, Musk's lawyers argued that he wouldn't be able to get a fair trial due to his unpopularity in California.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against the chief executive of the electric vehicle company after he said on social media that he was going to take the company private at $420 per share.

The SEC charged Musk with making false and misleading statements and he paid a $20 million fine. Musk resigned as chairman of the company and was replaced by a new one.

The class action trial will be overseen by a Northern California senior district judge. According to NBC News, the upcoming trial will determine if the company or its directors should be held liable and if shareholders are entitled to damages.

The financial future of the two companies is entwined because of the billionaire's debt, which is secured against his remaining stake in the company.

The stock price of the company fell from $225.09 to $113.06 per share, its lowest point in more than a year.

Musk's business dealings since acquiring the social media company, including mass layoffs and a culture current employees describe as "toxic," may also make it more difficult for him to be judged by a jury of his peers in California.

Alex Spiro argued in a motion filed Friday that a lot of the jury pool in this District is likely to hold a personal and material bias against Mr. Musk as a result of recent layoffs at one of his companies. Negative and inflammatory local publicity surrounding the events has compounded the baseline bias.

In December of 2021, the headquarters ofTesla moved to Austin, Texas. It is still based in San Francisco.

Referencing regular protests and picket lines in front of Musk's offices in San Francisco, Musk's attorneys stated that the "negativity toward Mr. Musk was not."

Spiro argued that the judge should allow time for the passions that have been stirred by recent events and biased local media coverage to go away before the jury hears the case.

Four days before the trial is set to begin, the request will be heard by Judge Chen.

Musk, his legal team, and representatives for the company didn't reply to Insider's requests.