Elon Musk's Tweets Keep Landing Him in Trouble With the SEC
Elon Musk has kept Tesla Inc. investors on their toes for more than six months with his tweeting and scuffles with U.S. financial regulators. He is showing no signs of slowing down.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a judge Monday to hold Musk in contempt for violating last year’s settlement with the agency, raising a fresh round of regulatory issues for the electric-car maker’s chief executive officer. The latest controversy involves a tweet Musk posted Feb. 19, yet the spat has been going on since early August.
Here’s a timeline:
Aug. 7:
Musk tweets that he’s considering taking Tesla private, with funding secured, prompting the SEC to begin making inquiries into the truthfulness of his posting. Prior to that, the regulator had already been gathering information about Musk’s manufacturing goals and sales targets.
Aug. 15:
Reports say Tesla received a subpoena from the SEC over Musk’s Aug. 7 tweet, showing intensifying regulatory scrutiny for his communications.
Sept. 27:
The SEC sues Musk over that tweet, saying he misled investors by claiming falsely he had lined up funding for the take-private transaction. The SEC seeks unspecified monetary penalties and requests that a judge bar Musk from serving as an officer or director of a public company.
Sept. 29:
Musk reaches a settlement with the SEC, agreeing to give up his role as Tesla chairman and pay a $20 million fine. The settlement requires that Tesla appoint two new independent directors and implement controls to oversee the communications of Musk, who can stay on as CEO.
Oct. 4:
Musk goes on an hourslong tweet storm, calling the SEC the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” and sarcastically quipping that it was “doing incredible work.” He also continues a tirade against short sellers, calling for their activities to be outlawed.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com