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Tesla CEO Elon Musk hit with new legal action over 2018 tweet

Elon Musk is facing more legal action after Tesla received a second subpoena from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to his tweets about taking the electric automaker private in 2018.

The company received the first subpoena in November in connection with a deal that required Musk's tweets on material information to be verified.

It came days after Musk asked his Twitter followers if he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla share to settle tax obligations on stock options.

READ MORE: LAID-OFF TESLA WORKERS FILE EMERGENCY LEGAL ACTION OVER SEVERANCE PAY

The company stated that it will work with government officials.

Musk settled a regulatory complaint over his go-private tweets in 2018 by agreeing to allow the company's attorneys to pre-approve tweets containing material information about the firm.

He then filed an appeal in June against a judge's rejection to terminate the 2018 deal with the SEC.

The world's richest man, who defines himself as a "free speech absolutist," has said his "funding secured" tweet was factual, comparing himself to musician Eminem in his attempt to overturn his 2018 agreement with the SEC.

CNN reports the settlement is in relation to Tesla's "governance processes around compliance with the SEC settlement."

The settlement stripped Musk of his title of "chairman" while allowing him to remain as CEO.

The SEC said while Tesla was in talks over a takeover with Saudi investors, Musk did not have the funding to take it private.

Musk agreed to the charge and agreed to submit any further tweets that could be material to investors to other executives at Tesla for approval.

The action led to Musk being hugely critical of the SEC and later said he only admitted the charges because Tesla's banks would've cut off funding if he'd continued to fight the agency.

Musk is also being sued by Twitter for withdrawing his $44 billion deal to purchase the social media company, and is preparing for a court confrontation in an October trial.

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Separately, Tesla stated in the filing that it has converted about 75 percent of its bitcoin assets into fiat money and has booked a $170 million impairment charge linked to the asset.

The filing states that the fair market value of its digital assets as of June 30 was $222 million.

Before the bell on Monday, July 25, Tesla shares were up 1.5 percent at $829.11.

Until the closing on Friday, July 22, the stock had lost approximately 23 percent of its value this year.

Source: CNBC

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