The head of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, may have another issue on his plate.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into Musk’s perceived market manipulation, mainly via Twitter, regarding the dogecoin cryptocurrency.
Rumors of the investigation were initially reported on Twitter by First Squawk, an audio-based financial newswire, which cites sources.
(The all-caps nature of the tweet apparently is meant to capture the newsworthiness.)
“SEC IS SAID TO INVESTIGATE TESLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE MUSK FOR HIS TWEETS ON DOGECOIN: SOURCES FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER
“#Dogecoins
“#Tesla”
The SEC is clearly concerned about Musk’s influence and already was monitoring his online activity, concerned that he could affect share prices and other markets.
Musk seemed unfazed by the possibility on Thursday.
“I hope they do! It would be awesome,” Musk tweeted.
In a 2018 interview with Bloomberg, Musk said he “(does) not respect the SEC” but would obey the law if ordered to.
The agency sued him that year after he said he had the financial wherewithal to take Tesla private. The suit, settled when Musk agreed to pay a fine and step down for a short time as chairman, alleged that Musk was not as close to gaining the financing as he indicated.
The billionaire’s audience of 48 million Twitter followers is undoubtedly entertained by the prospect of an investigation, with Musk sure to keep his faithful updated.
On Wednesday, Musk took to his beloved platform and shared a mocked up image of a shiba inu dog (the de facto dogecoin mascot) in a spacesuit planting a dogecoin flag on the moon.
The price of dogecoin dropped nearly 10 percent after the report emerged, though other cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and Ethereum (ether) lost similar value.
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