font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">• EV carmaker is seeking to close the
securities case
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">• Tesla has asked the court, not the agency, to
monitor Musk’s compliance with the settlement
"Arial",sans-serif">Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and its
boss Elon Musk on Thursday accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) of wrongly “targeting” them with endless probes to penalize Musk for
being an “outspoken critic of the government.”
"Arial",sans-serif">In a letter sent to the federal court in Manhattan, Alex
Spiro, a lawyer for Musk and the company, claimed SEC is trying to “chill” his
speech with “endless, unfounded” investigations.
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Musk donated $5.7 billion worth of Tesla shares in 2021
"Arial",sans-serif">Tesla, earlier last week, disclosed that the electric
carmaker received a subpoena from the market regulatory agency about its
compliance with that settlement, which required the CEO to obtain advance
approval for some written communications and even some tweets.
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Controversial tweet
"Arial",sans-serif">In August 2018, Musk tweeted, “Am considering taking Tesla
private at $420. Funding secured. Shareholders could either to sell at 420 or
hold shares & go private.”
"Arial",sans-serif">The tweet sent the shares of Tesla down by nearly 6%.
"Arial",sans-serif">Musk in September 2018 settled the fraud charges, which the
SEC brought against him.
"Arial",sans-serif">The settlement requires Musk to step down as Tesla’s
Chairman and the electric carmaker appointed independent directors. Tesla and
Musk agreed to pay $40 million in penalties to settle the charge.
"Arial",sans-serif">The SEC and the EV maker decided in 2019 that Musk cannot
communicate about specific topics, neither by writing nor tweets, without
running them through Tesla’s lawyers.
"Arial",sans-serif">However, in its regulatory filings published on February 7,
another subpoena from the SEC on November 16, last year, seeking
information on the governance process about the settlement.
"Arial",sans-serif">The carmaker did not elaborate on the exact cause of
another SEC subpoena in the regulatory filings.
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Tesla seeking case closure
"Arial",sans-serif">In the letter to the Manhattan court, which was addressed
to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who presided over the 2018 SEC settlement,
the company said it is seeking to close the securities case.
"Arial",sans-serif">“The SEC’s outsized efforts seem calculated to chill his
exercise of First Amendment rights rather than to enforce generally applicable
laws in evenhanded fashion.”
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says Starship to be ready for launch in ‘couple of months," expects FAA
approval by March
"Arial",sans-serif">Spiro also accused the agency is ignoring its commitment to
distribute the $40 million of fines among the shareholders that his clients
agreed to pay in the 2018 settlement.
"Arial",sans-serif">Spiro, in the letter, said his clients thought settling the
charges would end the agency’s “harassment” of Musk and asked the court, not
the agency, to monitor his compliance.
"Arial",sans-serif">“But the SEC has broken its promises,” the letter said,
adding that the agency has been “weaponizing the consent decree by using it to
try to muzzle and harass Musk and Tesla.”
"Arial",sans-serif">Picture Credit: Hollywood Life
