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On Tuesday, the Justice Ministry opened an investigation into the company following a surprise tweet by CEO Elon Musk last August.
The company said last month it had received a "voluntary request for documents" from the Justice Department, usually the first step in a federal investigation of this type. Tesla testified that she did not receive a subpoena, request for testimony, or other formal requests.
The tweet of the Elon Musk market on the possibility of taking Tesla in private is only the last erratic move of a tumultuous year for the CEO. Photo Illustration: Heather Seidel / The Wall Street Journal
Tesla said that he was cooperating with the probe. "We respect the DOJ's desire to obtain information on this and we believe that the issue should be quickly resolved as they review the information they have received," the company said in a statement. .
A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Bloomberg News reported previously that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation against Tesla.
Tesla shares fell 3.2% at midday.
On August 7, Musk surprised investors by tweeting that he was considering taking Tesla privately at $ 420 a share, about 20% more than the stock price at the start of the day. In his tweet, Mr Musk said the buyout had "guaranteed funds," without providing details.
A few days later, it was revealed that Mr. Musk was still organizing investors and funds for a proposed deal.
Mr. Musk's announcement also attracted the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is investigating Mr. Musk's funding application and has assigned Tesla to seek information from each of Tesla's directors. Some investors sued Mr Musk and the company saying that the CEO had misled them and that they had lost money.
The private drama was one of many episodes in recent weeks that has prompted some investors and analysts to question Musk's physical ability as CEO.
In July, he suggested on Twitter that a British cave explorer involved in rescuing a boys' football team in Thailand was a pedophile, a request for which he later apologized. The man on Monday filed a defamation suit against Musk. Tesla declined to comment, and Mr Musk could not be reached.
Earlier this month, Tesla's shares plummeted after Mr. Musk appeared to be smoking marijuana during a late-night YouTube interview.
Meanwhile, Tesla struggled to accelerate production of Model 3, placing Mr. Musk under close surveillance and raising questions about the company's finances. The company is about to finish the quarter with the objective of making a profit, a step that would help Mr. Musk prove that his plans to become cash-flow positive and avoid raising new capital were useless.
"We continue to believe that fundamentals are strong for third quarter shipments, but we recognize that noise around equities makes it difficult to invest in fundamentals," said Ben Kallo, an analyst at Baird Equity Research.
Tesla shares jumped 11% on Aug. 7 as a result of Mr. Musk's tweets, which were sent during market hours. In the days that followed, the board members of Mr. Musk and Tesla met to bring together teams of financial advisors and lawyers to facilitate complex negotiations.
On August 23, Mr. Musk told the board of directors that he had decided not to proceed with a proposal. The next day he ended the private interview tweeting that "I think the best way is for Tesla to remain public." Tesla's directors then issued a statement saying, "We fully support Elon while he continues to run the company. towards the front. "
Since August 7, Tesla shares have fallen by about 25% as the prospects for an agreement have improved. Shares are down about 8% this year after rising about 46% in 2017
Write to Tim Higgins at [email protected]
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