Should Elon Musk Face Even More Scrutiny?

In the past, Elon Musk has been recognized in his eccentricities and Tesla’s stock has been moved solely on his tweets, but this month has been nothing short of a circus.

Published August 29, 2018, 1:15pm ET · 2 min read

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© Wikimedia Commons, Brian Solis

Elon Musk has been the center of controversy this month, begging the question of whether he should remain in his role as CEO of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). In the past, Musk has been recognized in his eccentricities and Tesla’s stock has been moved solely on his tweets, but this month has been nothing short of a circus.

This circus began earlier this month when Musk proposed a buyout price of $420 a share, a 20% premium to the stock’s then-current share price. At that price, the buyout cost would total around $72 billion, not including debt.

Later this turned into a discussion of Musk’s sleeping habits and the fact that he spends an inordinate amount of time working. The pressure clearly got to him after what happened next.

In an interview with the New York Times, Musk appeared to cry, though he would later tweet that he did not do so, only that his voice cracked once during the interview.

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All this erratic behavior has obviously not gone unnoticed, and Musk may be facing some heavy scrutiny, not just from his investors and board of directors, but potentially regulatory bodies.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still has yet to acknowledge whether it is investigating Musk because of his tweet to take the company private. Since then, Musk has publicly stated that he plans to keep the company public in the best interest of its investors, but this may not be enough.

Shares of Tesla were last seen down about 2% at $305.00 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $322.38 and a 52-week trading range of $244.59 to $389.61.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.

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