Tesla founder Elon Musk is intensifying his feud with the Securities and Exchange Commission, months after a settlement over the agency’s claim that he lacked the necessary financing for his offer to take the electric carmaker private at a hefty premium.
“Let me be clear: I do not respect the SEC. I do not respect them,” he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
Both Palo Alto, Calif.,-based Tesla and Musk agreed to pay $20 million and overhaul the company’s board leadership after the 47-year old entrepreneur posted on Twitter that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share, a claim the SEC said was not backed up by fact. Musk relinquished the role of chairman, though he is still chief executive officer – a role from which the SEC initially had also sought to oust him.
Now, Musk is blasting the agency he once called the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission,” referencing his distaste for investors who bet that a company’s stock will decline – a group he blamed for some of the fluctuation in Tesla’s shares.
When asked why he had agreed to a settlement with the SEC, Musk said it was because he “respects the justice system.” An agency spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
Tesla rose 1.57 percent to $357.96 in pre-market trading in New York.
