Would be interested to know if this is illegal for a CEO to state even as a joke on April Fools. Would have been funny during market open, I bet some algos would have picked up on this.
This tweet violates so many securities laws in the US and Europe...
I get that it's a joke but not everyone understands the concept of April Fool's Day, and in the case of these tweets, there is no indication that the tweets, by a CEO of a publicly traded company with known financial issues, is not a factual statement. The Easter Egg sale would match actual past activities (like the "flamethrower" sale a few months ago) and the last, Trumpian statement would likely only be understood by those familiar with Trumpisms. The fact that he says several tweets later that they are not forward looking statements does not change the contents of this tweet.
Maybe instead of tweeting stupid jokes he should spend more time not running Tesla into the ground? Because on Tesla's current track, this joke's going to be a reality by the end of the year.
It is an interesting question. If the CEO of JPMorgan said publicly "We are bankrupt" as a joke, the impact on the entire economy would (temporarily) be ginormous. I presume it is illegal for a CEO of a public company to make such statements, but I am not sure. Anyone know?
Context matters though, doesn't it?
- Is the CEO known to make jokes / have fun?
- Is it April 1st?
- Is it an official company statement?
- Is it April 1st?
No, context doesn't matter. The CEO of a publicly traded company is treated by law as knowing that putatively material statements they make about their company in a public forum will be taken at face value. If they want to make a joke, they can make it in private, or they can make it about something non-material, or they can make it in a large press release which also includes a disclaimer that the whole thing is a joke.
The consequence isn't criminal, it's civil. Literally any person who traded on the basis of this tweet can potentially sue Musk for damages (depending on which side of the trade they were on), and courts have upheld liability in such circumstances.
I agree that it was a mistake (too easy to make the joke compared to the fact that SEC doesn't allow it), but Elon is very far from running Tesla to the ground.
Many of the investors understand that the transition to sustainability is a long term, hard, investment heavy process that takes decades and needs higher automation to be revenue positive than what's available at the current car factories.
Anyways if you're sure of yourself, just join the people who short TSLA (and got burned by it so far).
This is unprofessional and inappropriate on so many levels. The only reason I would expect someone to behave like this is if they have a trump card or they have made some observation in their favor that they aren't revealing.
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[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 58.8 ms ] threadI get that it's a joke but not everyone understands the concept of April Fool's Day, and in the case of these tweets, there is no indication that the tweets, by a CEO of a publicly traded company with known financial issues, is not a factual statement. The Easter Egg sale would match actual past activities (like the "flamethrower" sale a few months ago) and the last, Trumpian statement would likely only be understood by those familiar with Trumpisms. The fact that he says several tweets later that they are not forward looking statements does not change the contents of this tweet.
Maybe instead of tweeting stupid jokes he should spend more time not running Tesla into the ground? Because on Tesla's current track, this joke's going to be a reality by the end of the year.
Anyways if you're sure of yourself, just join the people who short TSLA (and got burned by it so far).