The US Securities and Exchange Commission could investigate Elon Musk for Tesla’s $ 1.5 billion purchase of Bitcoin, warned some legal experts, including a former SEC enforcement officer. Given the timing of Tesla’s Bitcoin purchase and Musk’s numerous tweets on the matter, some say the SEC will look into the matter.
Elon Musk could face an SEC probe
Regulators could investigate Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, over his company’s Bitcoin purchase, the Telegraph reported Tuesday. Last week, an SEC filing revealed that Tesla bought a significant amount of Bitcoin in January. “We have invested a total of 1.50 billion US dollars in Bitcoin. We assume that we will accept Bitcoin as a means of payment for our products in the near future,” said the file.
Doug Davison, partner at Linklaters and former branch manager of the SEC’s enforcement department, said:
Given the focus on the chief executive’s tweets, bitcoin pricing, and recent dramatic market moves, it wouldn’t be surprising if the SEC asked questions about the facts and circumstances here.
The CEO of Tesla and Spacex tweeted about Bitcoin and Dogecoin too. On January 29th, he changed his Twitter profile to just say “#bitcoin” and then tweeted, “In retrospect, it was inevitable.” A few days later, he publicly endorsed Bitcoin, stating that the cryptocurrency “is a good thing” and that “Bitcoin is really on the verge of gaining widespread adoption by conventional finance professionals”. His Twitter profile no longer says #bitcoin.
Vitor Constâncio, who served as Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB) until May 2018, said in a tweet: “It was not disclosed when Tesla made this investment. In December, Musk said that Tesla could buy bitcoin, and many claims followed that he supported bitcoin. ” He added:
Bitcoin continued to rise and Tesla investment has increased. The SEC will look into this.
Some believe the SEC will find nothing of concern from investigating Musk. Among them is Thomas Gorman, a partner at Dorsey Whitney international law firm and former SEC senior counsel. He expects that SEC staff looking at Musk’s comments on social media will find that they only reflect his personal beliefs.
However, some people believe that Musk manipulated the BTC price to buy cheap coins. Among those who believe the SEC is of concern is Professor Nouriel Roubini of NYU Stern School, also known as “Dr. Doom ”who has long been a Bitcoin skeptic. Calling Musk’s action some form of market manipulation, he insisted that the SEC investigate the Tesla CEO.
Musk has had problems with the SEC before. In 2018, the Securities Commission accused Tesla’s CEO of securities fraud in connection with a tweet about his electric car company. Musk and Tesla agreed to coordinate with the regulator and paid a $ 40 million fine. However, less than six months later, the SEC accused Musk of another tweet that the agency alleged violated the previous settlement agreement.
Do you think the SEC will investigate Elon Musk over Tesla’s Bitcoin purchase? Let us know in the comments below.
Tags in this story
Elon Musk Bitcoin, Elon Musk Sek, Elon Musk Sek Investigation, Elon Musk Sek Probe, Elon Musk Tesla, Sek Investigation, Tesla Bitcoin, Tesla BTC, Tesla Crypto, Tesla Cryptocurrency, Tesla Sek Probe
Photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer of liability: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or an invitation to make an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or approval of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author are directly or indirectly responsible for any damage or loss caused or allegedly caused by or in connection with the use or reliance on the content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
