Selloff or Market Correction? Either Way, Here's What to Do NextSee Overvalued Stocks

Musk says U.S. SEC 'bastards' forced settlement over Tesla tweets

Published 04/14/2022, 03:34 PM
Updated 04/14/2022, 08:41 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City, U.S. April 4, 2019.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
TSLA
-
TWTR
-

(Note: Strong language in paragraphs 1 and 4)

By Hyunjoo Jin and Sheila Dang

(Reuters) - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc CEO Elon Musk on Thursday stepped up criticism of the U.S. securities regulator, calling Securities and Exchange Commission officials "bastards" for bringing fraud charges against him over his 2018 tweets regarding taking the company private.

On the day he made major news by unveiling a $43 billion cash takeover offer for social media company Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Musk aired his grievances toward the SEC during remarks at the TED Conference in Vancouver.

Musk, the world's richest person according to a Forbes tally, said funding to take his electrical car company private was actually secured at the time he posted his tweets, but the agency "pursued the active public investigation nonetheless."

"So I was forced to concede to the SEC unlawfully. Those bastards," Musk told the audience.

Musk said he felt forced to settle with the SEC because banks threatened to cease providing capital if he did not do so, which would have made Tesla bankrupt immediately.

"So that's like having a gun to your child's head," Musk said.

"I was forced to admit that I lied to save Tesla's life and that's the only reason," Musk added.

Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million civil fines - and Musk stepped down as Tesla's chairman - to resolve SEC claims that Musk defrauded investors on Aug. 7, 2018, by posting on Twitter that he had "funding secured" to take the company private. The SEC said at the time his funding tweets "lacked an adequate basis in fact."

A related consent decree also required Musk to obtain pre-clearance from Tesla lawyers for tweets and other public statements that could be material to Tesla.

A spokesperson for the SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Musk rejected an invitation to join Twitter's board last Saturday after disclosing his current more than 9% stake. He was required to have disclosed that he held a stake exceeding 5 percent in Twitter and is expected to invite regulatory scrutiny for missing a deadline to disclose such a stake and filing the wrong form, according to securities experts.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City, U.S. April 4, 2019.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

On launching his Twitter takeover bid, Musk said he made the offer because he believes "it's very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech." Musk said he believes Twitter's algorithm should be open-source and suggested the code behind it should be available on Github, a Microsoft-owned platform for sharing code for software development.

Asked if he had the financing to do the deal, Musk said: "I have sufficient assets. I can do it if possible." He did not offer details.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.