Tesla’s stock prices sank Tuesday following news that the FBI is investigating the electric car company over a tweet by CEO Elon Musk suggesting he was taking the company private, MarketWatch reports.
The Silicon Valley automaker’s stock price dropped more than 5 percent in a matter of minutes after Bloomberg reported the Department of Justice had launched a criminal probe into the company.
Tesla stock is tanking, after a report the company is facing a criminal probe over Elon Musk’s going-private tweet https://t.co/Ne8xWtfc7X pic.twitter.com/b32LNeIJHT
— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) September 18, 2018
“Last month, following Elon’s announcement that he was considering taking the company private, Tesla received a voluntary request for documents from the DOJ and has been cooperative in responding to it,” Tesla told Bloomberg in a statement released after the initial article was published. “We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony, or any other formal process.”
“We respect the DOJ’s desire to get information about this and believe that the matter should be quickly resolved as they review the information they have received,” Tesla’s statement added.
Musk tweeted Aug. 7 that he was “considering taking Tesla private” at $420 a share and that funding for the move was already secured. The target price was then far above what the company was worth. (RELATED: Tesla’s Stock Tumbles After Elon Musk’s Failed Attempt To Go Private)
Musk backtracked Aug. 24, announcing he was abandoning plans to take the company private saying “Tesla’s existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company,” according to a blog post on Tesla’s website.
Musk’s actions were likely an attempt to avoid the media scrutiny that has plagued him every time Tesla releases a quarterly report. Tesla’s production goals have fallen short in the past year amid distraction of negative media attention.
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