The 7 most eyebrow-raising details in the Elon Musk fraud complaint

The securities fraud complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Tesla CEO Elon Musk contains an eye-opening view into the events leading up to the “funding secured” tweet heard round the internet. And luckily, TechCrunch has read through the document and highlighted the most compelling details, including new insights from the SEC’s… Continue reading The 7 most eyebrow-raising details in the Elon Musk fraud complaint

BMW’s independent German dealers agree to sign new contracts

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – BMW’s (BMWG.DE) association of independent German car dealerships advised its members to sign new long-term contracts with the carmaker before a deadline at the end of the month to avoid disruptions to the sale of cars and spare parts. The logo of BMW is pictured on a car during the 88th Geneva… Continue reading BMW’s independent German dealers agree to sign new contracts

Tesla shares sink on fraud investigation

Media playback is unsupported on your device Tesla shares have sunk after US regulators took legal action against founder Elon Musk for alleged securities fraud. On Thursday the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit over a claim made last month by Mr Musk that he had funding to take the company private. The billionaire… Continue reading Tesla shares sink on fraud investigation

Lyft unveils second annual diversity report

Lyft has released its second annual diversity report outlining the gender and racial breakdown of its 4,000-person workforce. At a glance, little has changed from last year’s report, which was the first time the $15 billion ride-hailing company disclosed its diversity stats. Forty percent of Lyft’s workforce is female, a slight decrease from last year’s 42 percent,… Continue reading Lyft unveils second annual diversity report

Tesla’s Elon Musk accused of fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla boss Elon Musk of securities fraud. The US financial regulator says Mr Musk’s claims that he had secured funding to take the electric carmaker private were “false and misleading”. It is seeking to bar Mr Musk from acting as an officer or director of… Continue reading Tesla’s Elon Musk accused of fraud

SEC charges Tesla CEO Elon Musk with fraud

Kiichiro Sato | AP
Tesla CEO and founder of the Boring Company Elon Musk.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud, according to court documents filed Thursday. Sources close to the company told CNBC the company was also expecting to be sued, though Tesla was not named as a defendant in the complaint.

Shares of the automaker fell roughly 10 percent in extended trading Thursday.

The SEC complaint alleges that Musk issued “false and misleading” statements and failed to properly notify regulators of material company events. The SEC plans to hold a press conference at 5 pm E.T.

In August, Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private, adding “funding secured.” The tweet spurred a scandal-ridden fall for Tesla and sent the stock see-sawing for weeks.

Musk later explained that he had been in discussions with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and felt confident the funding would come through at his proposed price of $420 per share.

The SEC, in its complaint, alleged:

Musk knew that he (1) had not agreed upon any terms for a going-private transaction with the Fund or any other funding source; (2) had no further substantive communications with representatives of the Fund beyond their 30 to 45 minute meeting on July 31; (3) had never discussed a going-private transaction at a share price of $420 with any potential funding source; (4) had not contacted any additional potential strategic investors to assess their interest in participating in a going-private transaction; (5) had not contacted existing Tesla shareholders to assess their interest in remaining invested in Tesla as a private company; (6) had not formally retained any legal or financial advisors to assist with a going-private transaction; (7) had not determined whether retail investors could remain invested in Tesla as a private company; (8) had not determined whether there were restrictions on illiquid holdings by Tesla's institutional investors; and (9) had not determined what regulatory approvals would be required or whether they could be satisfied.

Musk said in an interview with The New York Times that he calculated a take-private price of $420 by rounding $1 up from what would have been a 20 percent upside at the time.

“According to Musk, he calculated the $420 price per share based on a 20% premium over that day's closing share price because he thought 20% was a 'standard premium' in going-private transaction,” the SEC alleged in its suit. “This calculation resulted in a price of $419, and Musk stated that he rounded the price up to $420 because he had recently learned about the number's significance in marijuana culture and thought his girlfriend 'would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price.'”

In the hours after the initial tweet, Musk doubled down on the proposal in subsequent tweets. The SEC cited those subsequent tweets in the complaint as additional misleading statements.

Musk also failed to properly notify regulators about his plans to take the company private, the complaint alleges.

Tesla's board of directors initially formed a special committee to evaluate the take-private proposal, but Musk ultimately called off the privatization plans on Aug. 24.

Tesla did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Read the lawsuit as filed in the Manhattan District Court below, and download the file here:

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

—CNBC's
David Faber
contributed to this report.

Dyson Dumps Solid-State Battery Developer Sakti3

3 H BY MARK KANE Dyson writes off investment in Sakti3. It’s been quite some time since British manufacturer Dyson acquired Michigan-based battery startup Sakti3 in 2015 for $90 million, But now, according to the latest media reports, Dyson reviewed the investment (reportedly back in December 2017) and recorded an impairment charge of £46 million (over $60 million). “During… Continue reading Dyson Dumps Solid-State Battery Developer Sakti3

The 100th Anniversary of the Rouge: Ford’s Legendary Automotive Factory Readies its Next Act

After making more than 28 vehicle models, including the innovative aluminum-bodied F-150, the Rouge’s Dearborn Truck Plan will soon make electrified F-150 models The Rouge helped build America’s middle class with the $5-a-day wage, provided jobs for disabled workers and profit sharing. Today, Ford and UAW are investing $35 million to expand a nearby facility… Continue reading The 100th Anniversary of the Rouge: Ford’s Legendary Automotive Factory Readies its Next Act

Shaping the future of cities.

New York. URBAN-X, the leading accelerator for startups reimagining city life, founded by MINI and run in partnership with Urban Us, presented the outcome of its fourth generation of urbantech startup companies, Cohort 04. The startups are working on solutions to some of the biggest problems cities face around the world, such as optimizing building… Continue reading Shaping the future of cities.

In-car commerce startup Cargo raises $22 million led by Founders Fund

Cargo, the startup that helps ridesharing drivers earn money by bringing the convenience store into their vehicles, has raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Founders Fund. Additional investment came from Coatue Management, Aquiline Technology Growth as well as a number of  high-profile entertainment, gaming, and technology executives who include Zynga founder Mark… Continue reading In-car commerce startup Cargo raises $22 million led by Founders Fund