Elon Muskthe founder of Tesla and possible buyer of Twitterwill have to respond to the United States stock market authorities about the moment in which he announced his entry into the capital of the social network, after being accused by shareholders of “manipulating the market.”
The SEC published a letter on Friday addressed to the billionaire on April 4, the date on which he announced that he surpassed the purchase of 9% of Twitter’s capital.
The stock market regulator wonders why it waited for that date, when it exceeded 5% purchase on March 14. The law requires investors to advertise their participation in the capital of companies when they exceed that threshold, within a period of ten days.
Shareholders of Twitter sued on Wednesday against Elon Musk, whom they accuse of having manipulated the market to save on the purchase of the social network.
According to documents filed with a Californian court, the plaintiffs point to the founder of Tesla having delayed the moment in which he revealed having entered the capital of Twitter, breaching the legal obligation.
The billionaire, according to the lawsuit, would have thus saved 156 million dollars, since if he had informed the market at the correct time, he would have paid more for part of the shares.
“By delaying the publication of the amount of his participation on Twitter, Musk manipulated the market and bought parts (of the firm) at an artificially low price,” the investors’ lawyers argue.
Since the beginning of April, the value of the social network on the stock market has fluctuated to the rhythm of official information and Musk’s tweets.
When he announced that he owned more than 9% of Twitter’s capital on April 4, the stock soared 25%.
He had to integrate the company’s directory, which in the end he did not do. He then announced his intention to buy the entire San Francisco-based group for $44 billion.
The company’s board objected, but then relented. Musk said that he would suspend the operation, but finally went ahead with the plan to buy him.
“Musk made statements, tweeted and took other actions designed to cast doubt and depress Twitter’s stock substantially to give himself some wiggle room he hoped to use to withdraw from the transaction or renegotiate the price,” the shareholders further denounced.
Lawyers for Musk, Tesla and the SEC did not respond to AFP requests for comment on Friday.