The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his younger brother, Kimbal, violated insider trading rules when Kimbal Musk sold $108 million of his shares in the automaker just before Elon Musk pledged to sell 10 percent of his shares amid criticism. according to the Wall Street Journal.
Kimbal Musk sold 88,500 shares of Tesla, where he sits on the board, on Nov. 5, a day before his billionaire brother sent out a Twitter ballot asking his fans if he sold 10% of his Shares, to which 58% of the more than 3. 5 million voters said “yes. “
After the survey, Elon Musk agreed and sold shares, and the price fell drastically.
The SEC began investigating last year whether Kimbal Musk knew his brother would sell his shares before the survey was published, according to unnamed sources in the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal noted that Kimbal Musk did not register his sale using a 10b5-1 plan, a prefabricated business plan that allows executives and corporate managers to operate in predetermined periods and avoid insider trading fees, although he has used such a plan. in the afterlife when trading Tesla shares.
The SEC rejected Forbes’ request for comment on the Wall Street Journal report.
Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Forbes.
Kimbal Musk has been a member of Tesla’s board of directors since 2004. Forbes cautiously estimates that it is worth $550 million, with a 0. 04% stake in the company. Most likely, he has a stake in SpaceX, where he also sits on the board of trustees. In 2018, a Tesla shareholder organization screamed nepotism, arguing that Kimbal’s connection to Elon confused his role as an independent director and emphasized that he “has no professional delight in the auto industry. “
In 2018, Elon Musk and Tesla reached a settlement with the SEC worth $20 million after accusing him of misleading shareholders by tweeting that he could privatize Tesla. A federal ruling also forced Musk to resign as the company’s chairman.
$220. 2 billion. That’s what Elon Musk values according to Forbes’ real-time wealth tracker, making him the richest user in the world. $100 billion in October.