It's official, folks. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges against Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk. This guy can't seem to catch a break.
Then again, he brought it upon himself with his rather bold tweet that cost shorts an estimated $1.3 billion.
But that's just one element to the story. That's because the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation on Musk's tweet as well. In other words, there's a chance that Musk may be sent to the clink and have to pay even more fines on top of the civil case — assuming that results in monetary penalties. Even worse, the SEC can specifically take action to ensure Musk is no longer a principal officer or director of a public company.
Clearly, things have gotten very real.
So, I've got to ask: IF Elon Musk gets REMOVED from power by the SEC, then what happens to Tesla? Does its stock plummet? Does the company actually flourish? Is all hope lost for its future without its visionary leader? What say you, Spies?
..."He can face a number of penalties ... he can have fines imposed against him, he can effectively be barred for a period of time or permanently from serving as a principal officer or a director of a public company," former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday. "That last element would of course strike a very severe blow to Tesla."
The SEC lawsuit alleges that Musk issued "false and misleading" statements and failed to properly notify regulators of material company events. Sources close to the company told CNBC the company was also expecting to be sued, although Tesla was not named as a defendant in the complaint...
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