Elon Musk hasn’t kicked his Twitter habit, even after an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission to penalize him for a February tweet about Tesla’s sales forecast or misleading posts last fall that cost him $20 million and the chairmanship of the electric carmaker he founded.
“Something is broken with SEC oversight,” the Tesla CEO posted to his 25 million followers on Tuesday, just a day after the agency asked a federal judge in Manhattan to hold him in contempt for initially overstating the Palo Alto-based company’s revenue prospects for the year.
About four hours after a Feb. 20 tweet saying Tesla would build 500,000 cars this year, he clarified that the company would actually deliver 100,000 fewer vehicles than that, though its “annualized production” rate would reach his first figure, the agency said in papers filed in U.S. District Court. Musk also failed to have the post reviewed by the company’s securities counsel, as required under a 2018 settlement, the SEC said.
The numbers, available to anyone with Internet access, bear heightened relevance to Tesla investors because of the company’s ongoing effort to boost output enough to consistently turn a profit. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan gave Musk until March 11 to respond to the SEC’s request for a contempt ruling.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Exactly. This has now happened several times. Something is broken with SEC oversight.
— Elon Tusk ? (@elonmusk) February 26, 2019
“I have great respect for judges,” the 47-year-old billionaire wrote on Twitter. “It’s not perfect, but in general, we should be very glad of the U.S. justice system.”
The SEC, however, “forgot to read Tesla’s earnings transcript, which clearly states 350,000 to 500,000,” he added referring to production figures for its midsize Model 3. “How embarrassing.”
Musk, who changed his Twitter handle to “Elon Tusk” from “Elon Musk” this week, gave those numbers on a Jan. 30 call with analysts and investors regarding the carmaker’s financial performance last year.
In addition to complaining about Musk’s sales-forecast tweet, the SEC said a “60 Minutes” interview in December in which he told CBS’s Lesley Stahl that “we might make some mistakes” in carrying out the terms of the settlement show he isn’t serious about compliance.
“While Musk claims to ‘respect the justice system,'” his deliberate indifference indicates otherwise, the agency said. He has previously referred to the agency as the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” claiming that its actions have benefited traders betting that Tesla stock would decline.
Musk’s settlement with the SEC followed his offer via Twitter in September to take his company private for $420 a share, a substantial premium to its stock price at the time. The agency said he had failed to obtain financing for that proposal, which was later abandoned, and that it disrupted markets and harmed people who bought the stock hoping to sell at a much higher price based on the his comments.
Along with pushing Musk out as chairman, the agency at first sought to remove Musk as a company officer, too, a move that Wall Street analysts said might prompt investors to back away and lenders to be unwilling to extend credit. It eventually allowed him to remain as CEO.
Tesla rose 4 percent to $309.88 in New York on Wednesday, paring its loss this year to 6.9 percent.
