Musk is being sued by Tesla investors for tweeting a takeover bid. They say a judge agrees it was fraud

A key ruling in the run-up to a fraud trial with billions of dollars in damages at stake was won by the shareholders.

According to a court filing late Friday, the investors said a federal judge agreed with them that there was no reasonable jury that could find Musk's statements accurate or not misleading. The judge's April 1 order is described in the filing.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, said that nothing will ever change the fact that Musk was considering taking the company private.

He said Saturday that all that has left is random people trying to make a buck and others trying to block the truth from coming to light.

If not appealed, the ruling will put the electric-car maker at a big disadvantage in the jury trial. It will allow investors to focus on connecting Musk's statement to their stock market losses.

The decision is a blow to the credibility of the world's richest person as he continues to wage legal battles. Adding to the spectacle, Musk is making a hostile bid to take control of the company and make it a bastion of free speech.

Musk told a New York federal judge in March that he would never lie to shareholders.

The shareholders in San Francisco want the judge to prohibit Musk from making any more public comments about the lawsuit until after the trial is over.

The investors took aim at the comments Musk made during the event. He said he had to concede to the SEC and settle the agency's lawsuit over funding secured.

The shareholders argue that Musk's posts on social media cost them billions of dollars, while his lawyers argue that the posts were accurate.

Musk's lawyers have stood by their argument that Saudi Arabia's wealth fund agreed to support Musk's attempt to take the company private.

Lawyers for the shareholders didn't respond to an email after hours.

They said that Chen was explicit and unambiguous in siding with them in the judge's order.

Lawyers for the shareholders said in the filing that the judge concluded that Musk was reckless in making the statements.

The judge's order was not immediately confirmed by court officials.

The case is in the Northern District of California.