SEC Quizzes Musk Over Tweets Alleging He May Take Tesla Private

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approached Tesla to ask whether or not company CEO Elon Musk was serious when he said he may take the electric automaker private in a tweet made Tuesday.

Musk’s tweet indicated he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and that funding for the shareholder buyout (which would be the largest ever) had already been secured. A subsequent tweet said that Tesla going private was almost “certain” and the only reason that it may not is the decision is subject to a shareholder vote.

Shareholders could either to sell at 420 or hold shares & go private

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC has now approached Tesla over the matter, looking into whether or not Musk actually intends to take the company private. Musk could be in regulatory hot water if did not have a factual basis for the tweet, as it can be considered fraud for a high-ranking company executive to make false statements.

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Some believe Musk only made the tweet to affect Tesla’s share price. The company’s stock spiked from $341 to nearly $380 per share Tuesday, but has since cooled off to around $360 per share as of this writing.  Trading of the shares was halted Tuesday afternoon.

[Source: WSJ]