---
title: "The SEC Just Subpoenaed Elon Musk Over His Tesla Tweets"
description: "We thought it was coming, but now the moment is finally here: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially subpoenaed Elon Musk and other members on Tesla’s board of directors."
date: "2018-08-15"
modified: "2018-08-15"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/sec-musk-subpoena-tesla-tweets"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "breaking news"
  - "elon musk"
  - "sec"
  - "subpoena"
  - "tesla"
---

# The SEC Just Subpoenaed Elon Musk Over His Tesla Tweets

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/elon-musk-tesla-sec-subpoena.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

We thought it was coming, but now the moment is finally here: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially subpoenaed Elon Musk and other members on Tesla’s board of directors.

Last week, Musk tweeted that he had secured funding [to take Tesla private](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-taking-tesla-private>) (whether or not he does has been the [subject of some debate](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-saudi-money>) since). And crucially, he also specified *the price* at which that would happen — $420 a share.

This, as it turns out, might be more than just a bad weed joke — some [have speculated](<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/business/tesla-stock-elon-musk-private.html>) that ol' Muskie had planned to drive up the price of Tesla stock. Because, after all, that's exactly what happened, at least until (and after) the stocks were frozen.

Well, if that was Musk's plan, it wasn't a very good one, because [that would be fraud](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-musk-lawsuit/lawsuits-accuse-teslas-musk-of-fraud-over-tweets-going-private-proposal-idUSKBN1KV2IQ>). And it may not work out for him in the long run. As [*Fox Business* reports,](<https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/sec-ramps-up-tesla-investigation-after-elon-musks-tweets>) it seems the federal government has opened a formal investigation into the company to learn whether or not Musk’s tweets broke the law.

The day after Musk's tweets, the SEC was [already rumored](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-has-made-inquiries-to-tesla-over-elon-musks-taking-private-tweet-1533757570?mod=article_inline>) to have made initial inquiries into the company and its CEO.

This subpoena does not inherently mean that any wrongdoing has occurred, merely that the SEC suspects that it *may* have. And if Tesla board members were as blindsided by Musk’s announcement as *[The New York Times](<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/business/dealbook/tesla-board-musk-tweets.html?emc=edit_nn_20180815&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=6807231920180815&te=1>)* reports (board to Elon: stop. tweeting), there may be something to investigate, after all.

We will update this article as the story develops.

**READ MORE:** SEC ramps up Tesla investigation after Elon Musk's tweets \[[*Fox Business*](<https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/sec-ramps-up-tesla-investigation-after-elon-musks-tweets>)\]

***More about Elon Musk’s plans to take Tesla private: [Elon Musk’s Money Run for the Future of Tesla Starts Now—Here’s How He’ll Try to Pull It Off](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-saudi-money>)***

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)