Corporate Governance and Financial Markets: Musk's "Funding Secured" Tweet Leads to SEC Lawsuit

In August 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share. This abrupt announcement caused significant volatility in financial markets and ultimately led to a securities fraud lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Musk.

The incident exposed the unique risks posed by the combination of technology leaders and social media to investment firms and market transparency, prompting regulators to reassess executives' corporate governance and disclosure responsibilities in the digital communication era of the Future World.