July 17 (UPI) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tesla’s board of directors over “apparent conflicts of interest” involving Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk’s “dual roles” following his purchase of Twitter last year.
“Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’m concerned Tesla’s board has failed to manage conflicts of interest from his role as CEO of Tesla and Twitter,” Warren wrote in a tweet Monday. “Tesla’s board has a legal obligation to serve its shareholders. I’m urging the SEC to investigate.”
In her nine-page letter Warren also expressed concerns about the negative effects to Tesla shareholders amid alleged misappropriation of corporate assets, including claims that Tesla funds and employees were funneled into Musk’s Twitter’s $44 billion purchase.
“The concerns about Mr. Musk’s actions as Tesla CEO since his purchase of Twitter and the board’s failure to address or disclose potential risks related to them raise obvious questions about Tesla’s compliance with SEC rules and regulations,” Warren wrote Monday.
“I am therefore asking the SEC to open an investigation into Tesla to ensure that the actions of Mr. Musk and the Tesla board have not violated securities laws,” she added.
This is not the first time Warren has targeted Musk. In 2021, Warren blasted the amount of taxes he paid when he was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
A ProPublica report that year said he paid about $140,000 in federal taxes in 2015 and 2017, and none in 2018 — despite his wealth growing by $14 billion between 2014 and 2018.
“Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else,” Warren tweeted in 2021.
Musk replied, “For those wondering, I will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year,” adding “more taxes than any American in history.”
Musk has not responded to Warren’s letter to the SEC, which also discredits Musk’s hiring of a new CEO for Twitter.
While Linda Yaccarino recently took over as the new CEO of Twitter, Musk is “likely to retain ‘significant control’ over the company and intends to continue overseeing core functions of the business,” Warren wrote. She also warned Musk’s mismanagement of Twitter could spill over and “jeopardize Tesla’s long-term value.”
“Tesla is publicly owned, and Mr. Musk and the board have responsibilities to shareholders and the public in their management of the company,” Warren added.
“Mr. Musk’s personal wealth — and his personal relationships with Board members — do not shield him or the Tesla board from meeting basic SEC governance and disclosure rules.”
