The US Securities and Exchange Commission suddenly nevertheless reacted to Elon Musk’s accusations of unfounded checks. And to go into detail, as part of a letter the commission filed on Friday with a New York federal judge, the regulator said its frequent checks on Tesla were in line with the expectations of the court overseeing the company’s 2018 settlement. At the time, in case you weren’t aware, Tesla agreed to have its lawyers pre-clear some of the CEO’s tweets after one of his messages came to the attention of the commission.
In a specific account, via tweet, Elon Musk said that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share. However, after a very lengthy investigation, the US Securities and Exchange Commission declared that this message was a fraud, and Tesla and Elon Musk ultimately agreed to settle the case for $40 million. However, less than a year later, the Securities and Exchange Commission suspected Elon Musk of non-compliance with his part of the agreement, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
SEC, three letter acronym, middle word is Elon’s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2020
In 2019 and 2020, the agency’s lawyers wrote to Tesla to ask why, in particular, some of the CEO’s tweets about the company’s performance and share prices were not verified by its lawyers? In response, Tesla stated that these statements are not subject to the settlement policy. Well, this very week, in case you weren’t aware, Tesla accused the commission itself of using its resources to conduct “endless baseless investigations” against the company and its CEO.
The automaker also alleges that the regulator reneged on its promise to distribute $40 million in compensation to Tesla shareholders, which the commission is currently contesting. In a letter filed this Friday, the agency said it was working on a shareholder payout plan and would provide more details by March. As for the accusation of using resources for “endless” investigations, the agency said it “sought to meet and consult with Tesla and Mr. Elon Musk’s lawyer in order to resolve any issues related to their compliance with all requirements.” Be that as it may, at the moment it is unclear what exactly will happen next after the commission nevertheless reacted to the accusations of the automaker.
