Tesla is under investigation by the Department of Justice: NPR

Tesla is under investigation after its chief executive, Elon Musk, announced that he was considering taking the company privately.

Chris Carlson / AP

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Chris Carlson / AP

Tesla is under investigation after its chief executive, Elon Musk, announced that he was considering taking the company privately.

Chris Carlson / AP

Tesla said on Tuesday that it was complying with a request for documents from the Justice Department, as part of the announcement by the director general, Elon Musk, of its privatization.

August 7th, Musk ad on Twitter, this funding was "secure". The tweet boosted inventories to nearly 11% that day, according to Musk: "I'm trying to reach a result where Tesla can work best, without distraction or short-term thinking."

But this tweet also sparked a federal review.

"Last month, after the announcement by Elon that he was considering privatizing the company, Tesla received a voluntary request for DOJ documents and cooperated to respond," said a spokesman for Tuesday. the society.

"We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony or any other official process," the spokesman said.

The Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation, reported Bloomberg, citing two people familiar with the case who have not been identified. The survey is in its infancy and could take months.

We do not know what the Department of Justice is investigating. Prosecutors may consider the departure of Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton, who resigned after less than a month with the company, citing the public's attention and pace to justify his resignation. According to media reports, they could also review Tesla's accounting practices and determine if investors were misinformed about the company's health.

Tesla is also under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission – a survey of practices and communications that began before Musk publicly considered taking Tesla privately, reported Bloomberg.

In its investigation of the company, the New York Times quoted subpoenas sent to financial institutions that Tesla hired to go private. Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake, a private equity firm, have both been ordered to submit documents about their interactions with Tesla, sources told the newspaper.

Musk said his tweet was inspired by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which had raised the possibility of privatizing the company. Tesla later admitted that he did not have the funds for the transaction, and less than three weeks after his tweet, Musk took up the prospect of becoming private.

Short sellers who had anticipated the fall of Tesla shares said Musk's tweet aimed to manipulate stocks, according to the Associated Press.

Stephen Crimmins, who spent 14 years at the SEC as a trial attorney and then a deputy chief litigation lawyer, told AP that Musk "speaks freely" and that his behavior will probably not cross the threshold of criminality. Prosecutors should argue that Musk lied to influence the stock price, he said.

Musk has hired lawyers from Hughes Hubbard & Reed to represent him in the S.E.C. investigation, according to the Time. He also reportedly hired Steven Farina, who specializes in regulatory investigations and bad accounting practices.

This occurs as Tesla undergoes a "production hell" and a "delivery logistics hell" in its electric car sector, and that a British diver files a lawsuit against him for defamation.

After the announcement of the potential criminal investigation, Tesla shares fell by 3.4%.