Musk exposed himself to legal risk by tweeting Aug. 7 that he had the funding for a buyout even though that may not have been the case. Almost a week later, Musk said the basis for his statement was conversations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which first expressed interest in helping take the company private in early 2017.
Abandoned Effort
Tesla’s board then said that it hadn’t received a formal proposal from Musk, who’s also the company’s chairman, nor had it concluded whether going private would be advisable or feasible. Less than three weeks after his initial tweets, Musk abandoned the effort.
Now that Musk’s tweeting has attracted the Justice Department’s attention, investigators there could extend their review to other public statements made by the CEO about the company’s health, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Authorities could also look into the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Tesla’s Chief Accounting Officer, Dave Morton, after less than a month on the job, the person said.
Morton, a former chief financial officer for computer hard-drive maker Seagate Technology Plc, joined Tesla one day before Musk tweeted that he was considering buying out some investors at $420 a share and taking the company private.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.