Tesla CEO Elon Musk has disclosed that his company has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange commission. The disclosure was made through a regulatory filing made on Friday.
This information is worrying for both Tesla and Musk, as it means that the $40 million fine the two paid apiece for Musk’s tweet regarding taking his company private, has not been enough to assuage the SEC. The commission appears to be of a mood to ramp up the investigation even further, and investigate Musk’s multiple projections and conjecture regarding Model 3 production.
What’s more, reports from last week suggest that the FBI has also launched an investigation to hunt for any potential criminal activity surrounding Model 3 production goals. Several former employees have already been subpoenaed in this investigation. And of course, the Department of Justice has asked Musk and Tesla to voluntarily provide information regarding the former’s plan to take the company private.
There have not been any developments in these matters that we deem to be material, and to our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred.
Said Tesla on the matter. It added that these investigations could have an adverse effect on its business if they led to enforcement actions.
Meanwhile, this spate of investigations is worrying news for Musk as his car making company has just had its first profitable quarter. Not only does Tesla stand to lose sight of its goals with all this noise going on, Musk, who has recently lost his chairmanship in a tussle with the SEC, stands to forego investor faith, which is already rather jittery at the moment.
I bet Musk is regretting his “worth it” tweet now. Or knowing him, maybe he isn’t.
