SEC Says It's Not Targeting Tesla Or Musk, Despite Lawyer's Claims

The SEC says if Musk or Tesla have issues with anything specific, they should object via the appropriate means.

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Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Feb 21, 2022 at 12:57pm ET

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been pushing back against – and poking fun at – the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for years. He's even gone so far as to make inappropriate jokes at the SEC's expense. Some vocal Tesla fans might say that due to the CEO's social media behavior, it would come as no surprise if the Commission is now "targeting Tesla" and its outspoken CEO.

It certainly comes as no surprise Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, sent the SEC a letter with claims that the organization appears to be harassing Tesla and Musk. According to Automotive News, the letter claiming that the Commission is targeting Tesla with multiple "endless probes" and “unrelenting investigations” due to Musk's criticism of the government was delivered to US District Judge Alison Nathan.

It was also recently disclosed in a Tesla 10-K filing that the company has been issued subpoenas related to the litigation. However, the SEC denied any such behavior, stating that if Musk or Tesla have issues with anything specific, they should move to object via the appropriate means. The SEC's lawyer Steven Buchholz shared:

“Mr. Spiro’s letter incorrectly implies that the Commission staff have issued subpoenas in this litigation. That simply is not true -- the Commission staff have not issued any subpoenas in this litigation. If Tesla and Mr. Musk have legitimate objections with the SEC’s processes outside this litigation, they should pursue those objections in the appropriate forum.”

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In addition to all of the above, Tesla also says the SEC hasn't yet paid shareholders the $40 million it collected during the settlements over Musk's earlier "funding secured" tweet.

Buchholz noted in the letter from the SEC that it's working on a plan to move forward with the delivery of the monies, though it's quite complex. The SEC aims to have the plans in the judge's hands by the end of March 2022.

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