(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of misleading investors when he tweeted that he was “virtually certain” he could take the company private if he wanted to.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, the agency accused Musk of making a series of false and misleading statements in August.
The SEC has scheduled a press conference for 5 p.m. Tesla fell on the news, dropping more than 6 percent in extended trading.
Even before the tweets, the SEC was investigating issues at Tesla including its car sales projections. The Justice Department is also looking into whether Musk mislead investors, Bloomberg News has reported.
