Tesla Subpoenaed By the SEC (Again) Over Elon Musk's Tweets The billionaire infamously Tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private back in 2018.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Looks like the latest Twitter court drama isn't the only legal proceedings Elon Musk will be facing.
Tesla disclosed on Monday that it would be entering a court-ordered settlement talk with shareholders following a lawsuit regarding Elon Musk's years-old Tweet about planning to take the company private.
"The SEC had issued subpoenas to Tesla in connection with Elon Musk's prior statement that he was considering taking Tesla private," the company said in a filing. "The take-private investigation was resolved and closed with a settlement entered into with the SEC in September 2018 and as further clarified in April 2019 in an amendment. On November 16, 2021, and June 13, 2022, the SEC issued subpoenas to us seeking information on our governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement, as amended."
In 2018, Musk infamously Tweeted that he would take the company private and that he had the "funding secured" for $420 per share.
Shareholders could either to sell at 420 or hold shares & go private
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
"Shareholders could either to sell at 420 or hold shares & go private," he wrote in a follow-up Tweet.
Though the original lawsuit was settled in court (under the condition that Musk shows Tesla's lawyers all Tweets mentioning the company before they are published), Monday's documents show that Tesla was subpoenaed by the SEC again on June 13 regarding the Tweets.
The court date is set to take place over Zoom on October 3, the same month that Musk will face Twitter in a lawsuit over his failed attempt to purchase the company.
Twitter is suing Musk for backing out of his $44 billion bid in hopes that the court will order him to complete the acquisition anyway.
Musk did not comment on the lawsuit publicly, but did take to Twitter on Monday to denounce rumors that he had an affair with the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin last year.
Personal business aside, it appears that October will be a very busy month for the billionaire.
