Tesla subpoenaed by SEC over Model 3 production forecasts – TechCrunch



[ad_1]

You're here The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice are investigating projections made last year over Model 3 production rates. The SEC has issued subpoenas for information related to Model 3 production estimates. The DOJ, which is running a different investigation over Model 3 production targets.

The information contained in Tesla 's 10Q filing backs up October 26 article by The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI was investigating the misstated information about Model 3 production and misled investors. The FBI is the investigating arm of the DOJ.

Tesla issued a statement at the time of the article, acknowledging that it has received a voluntary request for documents from the Department of Justice. "We were cooperative in responding to it," the statement issued last week said. "We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony, or any other formal process, and there have been no additional documents in the Department of Justice for months."

This latest issue provides further clarification and clarification of the extent of the investigations. It's also the first time Tesla has said that the SEC has issued subpoenas to the company for information about the Model 3 production.

Here's the nugget in the SEC filing:

The National Transportation Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the SEC, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and various state agencies. We routinely cooperate with such regulatory and governmental requests.

In particular, the SEC has issued subpoenas to Tesla in connection with (a) Mr. Musk's prior statement that he was considering taking Tesla private and (b) certain projections that we made for Model 3 production rates during 2017 and other public statements relating to Model 3 production. The DOJ has also been instructed to provide information on the subject. Aside from the settlement with the SEC on the subject of self-determination and the protection of the environment that any wrongdoing occurred. As is our normal practice, we are cooperating and will continue to cooperate with government authorities. We can not predict the outcome or the impact of any ongoing matters. There is the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flow, and financial position.

We are also subject to various other legal proceedings and claims that arise from the normal course of business activities. If an unfavorable ruling or development has occurred, there is the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, prospects, cash flows, financial position and brand.

This did not stop Elon Musk CEO from blasting the WSJ for the report during a lengthy podcast interview released Friday with Recode 's Kara Swisher.

"The amount of untruthful stuff that is written is unbelievable. Take that Wall Street Journal front-page article about, like, 'The FBI is closing in.' That is utterly false. That's absurd. To print such a falsehood on the front page of a major newspaper is outrageous. Like, why are they even journalists? They're terrible. Terrible people. "

Tesla recently reached a settlement with the SEC, which began with a new infamous "funding secured" tweet by Musk about private automaker. A federal judge approved October 16 Musk's settlement with the SEC over securities fraud allegations. The SEC alleged in a complaint filed in September that it had been "funded secure" for a private takeover of the company at $ 420 per share.

[ad_2]
Source link