Tesla Shares Takes A Hit As Elon Musk Mocks The SEC On Twitter

Elon Musk and Twitter do not make for a good combination. While already being sued by Vernon Unsworth - a diver involved in the Tham Luang cave rescue - for a baseless Twitter accusation about the man being a paedophile, it was announced that the Tesla CEO is going to step down from his additional role as chairman for… something else he did on Twitter.

An investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded that Musk had presented “false and misleading” information by suggesting there were funds in place to take Tesla private. The resulting settlement also involves Musk and Tesla each paying a fine of $20 million, but the drama isn’t over yet, as the 47-year-old has decided to throw an insult in the SEC’s direction. On Twitter.

“Just want to that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work,” the CEO said in a reference to shortsellers - who effectively bet on the company’s failure. The Tweet prompted an angry reaction from many long-term shareholders on the platform and caused Tesla shares to drop by more than five per cent on Friday morning.

Part of the settlement with the SEC involves Tesla monitoring any company-related Tweets and other publicly-posted updates about the company from Musk, but until the agreement has been approved by the courts, he’s free to Tweet as he pleases.