WASHINGTON — The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he had misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private. Musk tweeted August 7 that he had "funding secured" to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla's share price. But Musk quickly rejected the SEC's allegations on Thursday, calling the charges baseless and vowing to defend himself. 'As firm as it gets'But Stephanie Avakian, the SEC's co-director of enforcement, told reporters that Musk knew his statements lacked any basis in fact. The Tesla CEO "had not even discussed key deal terms, including price with any potential source of funding," she said at a news conference.

Source: Philippine Star September 28, 2018 02:37 UTC