Hyperdrive

Tesla Tumbles Most Since 2015 on Worries of Musk-Less Future

SEC seeking to bar CEO clouds end-of-quarter delivery push
Investor sees ‘fundamentally different company’ without Musk

Columbia law professor John Coffee discusses the fallout of the SEC suit against Musk.Source: Bloomberg)

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By Dana Hull, Keith Naughton, and David Welch

September 28, 2018 at 2:23 AM UTC

Updated on

September 28, 2018 at 3:08 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

It’s nearly impossible to imagine Tesla Inc. without Elon Musk, its chairman, CEO, largest shareholder and public face.

But a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit has raised questions about the executive’s future at the electric-car maker, sending shares spiraling. The agency accuses Musk, 47, of misleading investors with his infamous Aug. 7 tweets about taking Tesla private. The two sides reportedly came close to a settlement before Musk backed out and the SEC filed a complaint seeking to ban him from serving as a director or officer.