Why Elon Musk Is Now Being Investigated By The SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating whether Elon Musk engaged in insider trading when his brother sold Tesla stocks worth over a hundred million dollars just a day before Musk asked his Twitter followers whether he should offload 10 percent of his stock portfolio as well. In November last year, Musk posted a poll on Twitter, asking millions of his Twitter followers if he should offload 10 percent of his Tesla stake — valued at approximately $25 billion back then. The Tesla chief also promised to abide by the Twitter hive mind's decision whichever way it went.
Following Musk's poll, Tesla's share price dropped by a seven percent margin in pre-market trading. The vote came when Musk was facing some intense criticism over allegations of tax evasion. Musk later claimed that he doesn't take a fixed salary as Tesla CEO and that the only way for him to pay taxes is by unloading Tesla stock. Back then, Musk reportedly owned over 20 percent of all Tesla stock, valued at over $250 billion at the time. Late in December, it was reported that Musk made good on his Twitter promise, selling about a million Tesla stocks while also accruing 1.6 million new stocks the same day.
Related: Elon Musk Says Awful Tesla Update Is Fine, Blames Users Instead
However, the whole saga didn't sit well with the SEC, especially with the near-perfect timing of his brother's stock-selling spree. The Wall Street Journal reports that the SEC is investigating whether Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk violated insider trading laws when the latter unloaded $108 million worth of his Tesla stock a day before Musk's infamous tweet sent the company's shares on a downward spiral. The SEC defines insider trading as the act of
Read more on screenrant.com
