They have therefore filed a class-action lawsuit.
Funding Secured Is Not Accurate “Mr. Musk was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share. Funding was secured. There was investor support. These conclusions are supported by extensive contemporaneous evidence, including discussions with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (the “PIF”) and Tesla’s Board, as well as the undisputed fact that there was sufficient funding for a go-private transaction, from the PIF or otherwise,” lawyers for the billionaire ກ່າວວ່າ in a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, in February.
“I should say, originally with Tesla back in the day, funding was actually secured. I want to be clear about that,” Musk said himself on April 14, during a Ted Talk interview.
“In fact, this may be a good opportunity to clarify that. If funding was indeed secured and, I should say, why do I not have respect for the SEC in that situation? And I don’t mean to blame everyone at the SEC, but certainly the San Francisco office. Because the SEC knew that the funding was secured, but they pursued an active public investigation nonetheless.”
But according to lawyers for the plaintiff investors, Californian judge Edward Chen said on the evening of April 15 that Musk’s statements were false. The judge concluded that Musk acted with scienter which means that he knowingly made false statements about having funding secured when he tweeted, the lawyers said.
“Nothing will ever change the truth which is that Elon Musk was considering taking Tesla private and could have,” Alex Spiro, Musk’s lawyer from Quinn Emanuel, responded in an email statement. “All that’s left some half decade later is random Plaintiffs lawyers trying to make a buck and others trying to block that truth from coming to light all to the detriment of free speech.”
Spiro didn’t dispute the statement from the plaintiffs about the judge’s decision.
Trial Expected in May The information was revealed as part of a motion by plaintiffs’ attorneys asking the judge to bar Musk from continuing to make statements on the subject as of April 14 on the Ted Talk. Indeed, the decision is under seal at the request of the parties who are preparing for the trial scheduled from May 31, according to the lawsuit.
“Because it refers to evidence that defendants regarded as confidential, the Court preliminarily filed the order under seal while the parties agree what portions, if any, need to stay under seal. We anticipate the order will be published soon,” attorney Adam Apton of Levi & Korsinsky, which represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement by email to TheStreet.
This lawsuit could cost Musk dearly if he loses it.
Bloomberg was first to report about the Judge’s decision.