Elon Musk sued for his 'funding secured' tweet 4 years ago: Reports

Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been sued for a controversial tweet he posted on the social media platform four years ago, reported CNN. In the four years old tweet, Elon Musk wrote, "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." This has led Musk, Tesla, and other Tesla directors to face a shareholder lawsuit. The tweet wouldn't be controversial if he had not written “Funding secured”.

Because of those two words, he has been paying millions of dollars in fines and legal fees, as per a CNN report. It turned out that while the Twitter tycoon Musk had spoken to the executives of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund about the money he would need to take Tesla private, the funding was anything but "secured", reported CNN.

Musk sued for a Tweet 

Initially, Tesla shares were at 11% on the day he wrote his controversial tweet but never reached that promised $420 level, instead reached a high of $387.46. Tesla's shareholders claimed that they were defrauded by Musk's 2018 statement that funding was "secured" to take the electric car maker private. After that tweet on August 7, 2018, by Musk, this lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who bought or sold Tesla stock in the days. The company's shares shot higher and then fell again after August 17, 2018.

Further, the Securities and Exchange Commission was also prompted to file a civil suit. The federal agency would require executives to tell the truth and protect investors. The lawsuit originally sought to strip him of his position as Tesla’s CEO but eventually, all reached a settlement in which Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million in fines, and Musk gave up the chairmanship of the company but retained the CEO title.

And after that tweet, any tweet that would be posted by Musk would be reviewed in advance by other company executives. Musk has been waiting for a decision in a bench trial in a separate shareholder case held in Delaware state court challenging the compensation package he received from Tesla that made him the richest person on the planet until the recent decline in the company's stock price, reported CNN.