Legal advisers have warned that Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, could be investigated by the United States Security and Exchange Commission because of his activity on social networks around Bitcoin.
On Monday, February 8, Tesla announced in a SEC filing that it had purchased $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin and will soon begin accepting BTC payments. Shortly thereafter, asset prices soared to a new record high of just over $ 48,000.
Linklaters partner and former head of the SEC’s oversight division, Doug Davison, told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper:
“It wouldn’t be surprising – given the focus on CEO tweets, Bitcoin prices and recent dramatic market movements – if the SEC asked questions about the facts and circumstances here,”
Former Vice President of the European Central Bank, Vitor Constâncio, echoed the sentiment when he concluded that the “SEC will study this”,
It was not disclosed when Tesla made this investment. In December, Musk said Tesla could buy bitcoin, and this was followed by many claims that he supported bitcoin. Bitcoin continued to grow and investment in Tesla appreciated. The SEC will review this 5 /
– Vitor Constâncio (@VMRConstancio) February 8, 2021
The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have the ability to investigate if they suspect market manipulation.
Musk has demonstrated on Twitter with Bitcoin and DOGE shillings on several occasions, which has contributed to Bitcoin’s activity on the social media platform reaching its highest levels. DOGE reached new highs after Musk’s endorsement.
There is no doubt that Tesla’s public onslaught on Bitcoin and Musk’s influential tweets to his 46.5 million followers contributed to this latest price increase.
He is still cursing Dogecoin with this recent tweet at the end of February 10, stating that he is buying the asset. DOGE increased 13% after that specific tweet a few hours ago.
I bought Dogecoin for lil X, so he can be a little hodler
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2021
Musk is no stranger to the Twitter controversy; he had previously been accused of posting incorrect information on the platform about Covid-19 and the closure of one of its factories.
In another incident he suggested that Tesla’s share price was too high, resulting in a subsequent price drop. The SEC sued Musk for fraud, accusing the Tesla boss of making “false and misleading tweets”, but he made a deal with the regulator soon after.