It appears that Elon Musk vs. the SEC is far from over, with the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO now accusing the regulatory commission of leaking otherwise private information regarding a federal investigation.
Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro penned a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan on Monday, alleging an individual from the SEC leaked information pertaining to a federal investigation in an effort to get revenge against his criticism of the regulatory commission. “It has become clearer and clearer that the Commission is out to retaliate against my clients for exercising their First Amendment rights—most recently by criticizing the Commission on the public docket and by petitioning this Court for relief,” he wrote.
Spiro’s letter blamed at least one SEC member of releasing “certain information regarding its investigation,” but he refrained from specifying which federal investigation the leaked information is related to, the subject of the sensitive information, and to whom it was leaked to. The letter comes merely days after Musk accused the SEC of repeatedly harassing him via constant investigations against him and Tesla, attempting to shutter his free speech, as well as failing to return the $40 million to shareholders that Musk and Tesla paid as part of a settlement against fraud charges.
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The strife between the SEC and Musk dates back to September 2018, when the commission charged the Tesla CEO with making “false and misleading” remarks to shareholders. The charges were pertaining to a twitter post from a month earlier, where Musk announced he had enough funds to take his EV company private at $420 per share. This sent Tesla’s stock into a period of substantial volatility, but the deal ultimately failed to come to fruition.
The SEC ordered Musk and his company to each pay $20 million, and forced Musk to abdicate his chairman position for three years. Musk also agreed to having all social media posts vetted by other Tesla executives before making them public.
Information for this briefing was found via CNBC. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
