Tesla reportedly under criminal investigation by the Justice Department over Musk tweets
Musk could be in hot water
By Shawn Knight,
Why it matters: Tesla CEO Elon Musk could be in hot water as the DOJ has
reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Tesla over tweets he
made about taking the company private last month. Musk has since said he
plans to keep the company public but the potential market manipulation
already took place.
The Justice Department has reportedly launched a criminal probe into
Tesla following statements made by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter last month.
Two anonymous sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg News that
the investigation is running alongside a previously reported civil
inquiry by securities regulators. It's in an early stage, Bloomberg
notes, adding that probes like this can take several months and
sometimes end with prosecutors deciding not to take action.
Musk on August 7 said on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla
private once its stock hit $420, adding that funding had already been
secured. He later clarified that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund
had expressed interest in financing the endeavor but after further
consideration, decided it was best for Tesla to remain a public company.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia said it had agreed to invest $1 billion into
rival Lucid Motors to help with the commercial launch of its first
electric vehicle in 2020.
Tesla has not publicly commented on the DOJ probe as of this writing.
When reached for comment by Bloomberg, Abraham Simmons, a spokesperson
for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco, declined to comment on
the matter.
Share value in the company is down 4.73 percent on the news.
Musk announced last night during a live webcast that Japanese
billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will be the first person (along with eight
people of his choosing) to fly around the Moon aboard SpaceX’s next
generation vehicle, the BFR.
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