The Securities Exchange Commission, an integral branch of the US Government, is suing Elon Musk for issuing misleading Tweets which coerced investors into thinking he was taking his Tesla company private. The Tweet is still among the thousands that remain posted on his public Twitter account. It unquestionably reads: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”

https://twitter.com/_/status/1026872652290379776

In their court appeal, the SEC highlighted a few other “suggestive” Tweets reiterating his desire to transition from a publicly listed enterprise to a private one: “My hope is *all* current investors remain with Tesla even if we’re private. Would create special purpose fund enabling anyone to stay with Tesla.” I’ve included a transcription of the Tweets in the event they are taken down.  

https://twitter.com/_/status/1026890900885184514

The court documents obtained by TMZ, contends that his Twitter escapade was done in haste, while he was holding preliminary discussions with confidantes falling outside Tesla’s board of governors. As a result, the information he provided via Twitter was misleading and dare they say “uninformed.” Furthermore, the SEC believes the Tweets had a dramatic effect on Tesla’s diminishing stocks, which in turn put a dent in the pockets of investors. Their stake in all of this: to prevent Elon Musk from ever holding a CEO or directorial seat of a publicly traded company, EVER AGAIN.