Shares of Tesla tumbled more than 6 percent in early trading Friday after a report that CEO Elon Musk will meet with Securities and Exchange Commission officials next week.
The electric carmaker’s stock is down 10 percent over the last 12 months and has been especially pummeled in the last week, down 11 percent after a tweet by Musk that he was considering taking Tesla private. The SEC began an investigation after the tweet and has reportedly sent out subpoenas for information.
Musk and members of Tesla’s board are set to meet with SEC officials as soon as next week, The New York Times reportedFriday. The Times also reportedthat the board is concerned about the CEO’s use of Ambien and other recreational drugs, which sources said could be fueling his controversial tweets.
Musk tweeted last week that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The public statement could be a violation of SEC rules.
The agency is also reportedly looking into whether the tweet was meant to hurt those betting against Tesla, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited a source familiar with the matter. The Journal reported that the agency is pressing Tesla’s board on how much information the CEO shared ahead of last week’s Twitter announcement.
Last week, short-sellers betting against Tesla had roughly $1.3 billion in mark-to-market losses, according to estimates from financial technology and analytics firm S3 Partners.
