Tesla Reveals It Received a Subpoena After Elon Musk Tweet The subpoena requested information on Tesla's compliance with an earlier settlement reached between Musk and the SEC.
By Chloe Arrojado Edited by Jessica Thomas
Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*
Claim Offer*Offer only available to new subscribers
A financial filing on Monday revealed that Tesla received a subpoena from the SEC last November. The SEC subpoena is related to a 2018 settlement that required CEO Elon Musk's tweets about the electric vehicle company to be vetted.
"The SEC had issued subpoenas to Tesla in connection with Musk's prior statement that he was considering taking Tesla private," the Tesla filing noted. "More recently, on November 16, 2021, the SEC issued a subpoena to us seeking information on our governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement, as amended."
The Tesla subpoena was issued 10 days after Musk launched a Twitter poll asking his Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of his stake in the company.
I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021
The subpoena requested information on Tesla's compliance with a 2018 settlement between Musk and the SEC. The settlement occurred after Musk posted a tweet in August 2018 that he had the "funding secured" to take the company private. The investigation was resolved in September 2018, with Musk agreeing to have Tesla's lawyers pre-approve tweets with material information about the company. They further clarified the terms in an April 2019 amendment.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
Related: Ex-Tesla Employees Reveal the Worst Parts About Working for the Company
Musk has been public with his disdain for the SEC over the years. In a 60 Minutes interview in 2018, Musk said, "I want to be clear. I do not respect the SEC. I do not respect them." More recently, he posted a tweet about his discontent with the government agency.
SEC, three letter acronym, middle word is Elon's
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2020
Tesla stock is down 0.061% over a 24-hour period as of Tuesday morning.
Related: Tesla is Raising $2 Billion in Funding Two Days After Elon Musk Said It Didn't Need To
