When Elon blamed the SEC for a “harassment campaign” targeting him, the SEC reminded Space X CEO that this degree of government monitoring was part of the arrangement he signed following his lame puns got him in heated air. Musk had blamed the SEC for harassing him the other week. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Musk in 2018 of making “inaccurate and defamatory” representations to shareholders following his statement that he had obtained money to take Tesla private for $420 per share.
SEC argued that Musk’s statement represented deception after an inquiry into the deal’s failure. The SEC, Tesla, and Musk consented to a settlement, and as part of the agreement, Musk was obliged to resign as Chief Executive of Tesla’s management. Musk promised to have his social media postings reviewed by a financial legal expert before they were published, and Tesla spent a sum of $40 million in penalties as a result of the settlement.
A Wild Goose Chase
Tesla and Elon submitted a statement to U.S. District Court Alison Nathan, the state commissioner supervising the hearings, charging the SEC of wasting its assets to launch “unending, unjustified inquiries” against the firm and its Chief on Thursday. It appears that the SEC is focusing on Elon Musk or Tesla owing to Musk’s continued public criticism of the federal authority, as Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro noted.
“Muzzle and harass” and repeated verification by regulators looked “designed to stifle” entrepreneur Musk’s First Amendment rights, according to other charges. Another requirement of the compromise agreement was that the SEC deliver the $40 million compensation to Tesla stockholders, and the statement claimed that the SEC had failed to do so.
SEC chief Stephen Buchholz sent a statement to the justices on Thursday saying that Tesla and CEO Elon Musk’s claim that the SEC is harassing them is really in accordance with the judge’s standards. It’s not like Elon hasn’t provided the watchdog enough cause to keep looking into his business practices. There have been several SEC inquiries into why Tesla’s attorneys did not filter specific comments carrying important business data, as agreed to in the settlement, in the months since then. A self-described troll, Musk enjoys stirring up trouble by tweeting things such, as “SEC, three-letter abbreviation, the second word is Elon’s,” in July 2020.
The SEC told reporters that the procedure of returning the funds to stockholders is still ongoing, but should be completed within the next week. Neither Tesla nor Elon had previously voiced any issues to the government, it was stated. For now, it is unknown what the following stages in the procedures will be after Tesla files a complaint.
The Newspaper says that Judge Nathan has already requested the two parties to sort out their differences instead of bringing the case to trial. That seems unlikely, though, considering Musk’s flair for showmanship and igniting court disputes.
