The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private.

Musk tweeted August 7 that he had "funding secured" to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla's share price.

The SEC said Musk's statements on Twitter were "false and misleading" and that he had never discussed the plans with company officials or potential funders.

Musk later said he later decided against the plan.

But Musk quickly rejected the SEC's allegations on Thursday, calling the charges baseless and vowing to defend himself.

"This unjustified action by the SEC leaves me deeply saddened and disappointed," Musk said in a statement.

"I have always taken action in the best interests of truth, transparency and investors. Integrity is the most important value in my life and the facts will show I never compromised this in any way."

Tesla expressed support for Musk on Thursday, saying the company and the board of directors "are fully confident in Elon, his integrity, and his leadership."

The SEC's charges pose a potentially devastating threat to Musk's future as an entrepreneur, as the agency is seeking fines and the return of ill-gotten gains, as well as potentially barring him from ever serving as an officer or board member of a publicly-traded company.

- 'As firm as it gets' -

Stephanie Avakian, the SEC's co-director of enforcement, told reporters that Musk knew his statements lacked any basis in fact.

The Tesla CEO "had not even discussed key deal terms, including price with any potential source of funding," she said at a news conference.

The charges were a fresh blow to the embattled silicon valley entrepreneur and his company, which has been buffeted in recent months, struggling to reach production targets.

Musk has baffled investors with emotional and seemingly erratic media appearances, including one where he appeared to smoke marijuana, and a public battle with a rescuer who helped save a group of boys trapped in a cave in Thailand.

Steven Peikin, SEC co-director of enforcement, told reporters Thursday that Tesla's investor relations department had scrambled to contain the fallout from Musk's tweets, falsely assuring investors the matter was effectively a done deal.

"The investor relations department told analysts that there was a quote firm offer, and that quote -- the offer is as firm as it gets," Peikin said.

Tesla's share price closed up nearly 11 percent the day of the tweet -- which caused the Nasdaq to suspend trading for an hour and a half.

The company's fortunes on Wall Street worsened considerably Thursday, sinking about 10 percent in after-hours trading to $277.50, down 25 percent since the day of the go-private tweet.

dg/hs/wd/hg

TESLA MOTORS

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Ford CEO warns tariffs cut $1 bn in profit: report
Washington (AFP) Sept 26, 2018
Ford chief Jim Hackett on Wednesday ramped up his warnings about the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, saying his company was seeing profits slashed by $1 billion. Hackett said the global automaker could face more damage if the trade confrontations were not resolved quickly. "The metals tariffs took about $1 billion in profit from us," Hackett said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "If it goes on longer, there will be more damage." Trump in June imposed steep tariffs on steel ... read more