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takyon writes:

Musk Says 'Funding Secured' Claim Sparked by Saudi Meeting

Elon Musk said interest from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund gave him the confidence to drop the bombshell last week that he was considering taking Tesla Inc. private. The Saudi Kingdom's Public Investment Fund had approached Musk going back almost two years about taking Tesla off the market, he wrote in a blog post Monday, confirming that the fund recently bought an almost 5 percent stake. Musk described a July 31 meeting in which the Saudi fund's managing director expressed regret that Tesla hadn't moved forward with a go-private transaction.

[...] Several investors have since sued Musk and Tesla, claiming the company's share price had been manipulated. The Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be intensifying its scrutiny of the company and its chief executive officer after having started gathering general information about Tesla and Musk's earlier public pronouncements about manufacturing goals and sales targets.

One of Tesla's biggest critics, Vertical Group analyst Gordon Johnson, read Musk's blog post as a walk-back maneuver from his "funding secured" tweet last week. He cited Musk's statement Monday that the Saudi fund's support for taking Tesla private was "subject to financial and other due diligence and their internal review process for obtaining approvals." "He is specifically stating that funding is not secured, and I think that's a big deal," Johnson, whose $93 price target on Tesla shares is the lowest among Wall Street analysts, said on Bloomberg Television. "The question then becomes, what does the SEC do here, and do the shareholders stick with him?"

Also at CNBC.

Previously: Elon Musk Considers Taking Tesla Private

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Tesla Is Said to Be Subpoenaed by S.E.C. Over Elon Musk Tweet (archive)

Federal securities regulators have served Tesla with a subpoena, according to a person familiar with the investigation, increasing pressure on the electric car company as it deals with the fallout from several recent actions by its chief executive, Elon Musk.

The subpoena, from the Securities and Exchange Commission, comes days after regulators began inquiring about an Aug. 7 Twitter post by Mr. Musk, in which he said he was considering converting Tesla to a private company. In the post, he said that the financing for such a transaction, which would probably run into the tens of billions of dollars, had been "secured."

Tesla shares, a popular target for so-called short sellers who bet on certain stocks losing value, soared about 11 percent on the day Mr. Musk posted the message.

It has become clear since then that neither Mr. Musk nor Tesla had actually lined up the necessary financing aside from having preliminary conversations with some investors.

Musk tweeted[*] that he wanted to take Tesla private at $420 a share. Azealia Banks claimed[**] to have been in Musk's home and witnessed Elon Musk tweeting while using LSD and making frantic calls to shore up funding for a take-private attempt. Maybe Azealia Banks will be called to testify by the SEC?

[*] The actual tweets:

takyon writes:

Tesla Is Facing U.S. Criminal Probe Over Elon Musk Statements

Tesla Inc. is under investigation by the Justice Department over public statements made by the company and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, according to two people familiar with the matter. The criminal probe is running alongside a previously reported civil inquiry by securities regulators.

Federal prosecutors opened a fraud investigation after Musk tweeted last month that he was contemplating taking Tesla private and had "funding secured" for the deal, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential criminal probe. The tweet initially sent the company's shares higher.

[...] The criminal inquiry is in its early stages, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Justice Department probes, like the civil inquiries undertaken by the SEC, can take months. They sometimes end with prosecutors deciding against bringing any charges.

Also at MarketWatch.

Original Submission

chromas writes:

Elon Musk Accused by SEC of Misleading Investors in August Tweet

Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of misleading investors when he tweeted that he had funding lined up to take the company private.

The agency said Musk fabricated the claim in his August tweet, which sent Tesla shares higher.

"In truth and in fact, Musk had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including price, with any potential funding source," the SEC said in complaint filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, less than two months after Musk's tweet.

The suit seeks an order from a judge barring Musk from serving as an officer or director of a public company, a request often made in SEC lawsuits, as well as unspecified monetary penalties.

Shares fell about 10 percent in after-hour trading on news of the lawsuit. The company, which wasn't sued, and an attorney for Musk didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The SEC has scheduled a press conference for 5 p.m.

The complaint: 1:18-cv-8865 (alt source).

Current (delayed) stock quote: TSLA.

Also at the BBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, c|net, and Ars Technica.

[Update: added 20180928_141312 UTC]

The CNBC is reporting Tesla's Musk pulled the plug on a settlement with the SEC at the last minute:

takyon writes:

Tesla and CEO Elon Musk will pay $40 million to settle SEC case

Tesla and Chief Executive Elon Musk have settled a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that alleged the outspoken businessman misled investors about his prospective effort to take the electric-car company private.

Musk and the Palo Alto company agreed to pay a total of $40 million, and he will give up his chairmanship for at least three years. Musk, however, will remain chief executive and retain a seat on the company's board of directors. Tesla, meanwhile, is required to install an independent chairman and add two new board members, according to terms of the settlement, which the SEC announced Saturday.

Musk and Tesla will each pay $20 million to settle the case; both reached the deal without admitting wrongdoing. The company declined to comment.

The SEC charged Musk with fraud Thursday, alleging that his tweets about taking Tesla private — at $420 a share — were "false and misleading." As part of the lawsuit, it asked a federal court to remove him from the company's leadership and ban him from running a public company.

Also at Reuters.

SEC Settlement announcement.

Previously: Elon Musk Considers Taking Tesla Private
Elon Musk Accused by SEC of Misleading Investors in August Tweet [Updated]

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

Elon Musk isn't on his Twitter leash yet, so he's taunting the SEC

On Saturday, Elon Musk settled a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission claiming that he had violated federal securities laws by tweeting that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private. Now, days later, Musk has tweeted out a sarcastic message to the SEC:

Just want to [say] that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work. And the name change is so on point!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2018

Musk has long waged a rhetorical war against shortsellers—investors who borrow shares of Tesla in order to profit if the price drops. Here he's suggesting that the agency—whose mission is to protect investors from CEO misconduct—is actually harming the value of Tesla's stock by enforcing securities laws against Musk and Tesla.

[...] Saturday's settlement required Musk to step down as Tesla's chairman, appoint two new independent directors, and pay a $20 million fine. The deal also requires Tesla's board to "establish a new committee of independent directors and put in place additional controls and procedures to oversee Musk's communications." But according to Recode's Teddy Schleifer, that requirement doesn't kick in for 90 days after signing, giving Musk a few more weeks of unfettered tweeting.

[...] The stock market did not seem thrilled about Musk's latest tweet today. After falling 4.4 percent during the regular trading session, Tesla's stock price fell by another two percent in the minutes after Musk tweeted.

The judge overseeing the case has asked Tesla and the SEC to write a joint memo justifying the settlement. It's due next week. Ordinarily, this would just be a formality, but Musk's tweet is certainly not going to help the process go more smoothly.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for carny:

Elon Musk tweet wipes $14bn off Tesla's value:

The tweet also knocked $3bn off Mr Musk's own stake in Tesla as investors promptly bailed out of the company.

"Tesla stock price is too high imo," he said, one of several tweets that included a vow to sell his possessions.

In other tweets, he said his girlfriend was mad at him, while another simply read: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light of consciousness."

In 2018, a tweet about Tesla's future on the New York stock market led to regulators fining him $20m and agreeing to have all further posts on the platform pre-screened by lawyers.

Previously:
(2019-04-27) Elon Musk Reaches Settlement in SEC Tweet Battle
(2018-10-06) Elon Musk Isn't on His Twitter Leash Yet, So He's Taunting the SEC
(2018-09-30) SEC Settlement: Elon Musk Resigns as Chairman of Tesla, Stays as CEO, $40 Million in Fines Paid
(2018-09-28) Elon Musk Accused by SEC of Misleading Investors in August Tweet [Updated]

Original Submission