NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk on Sept. 27, of fraud and sought to remove him from his role in charge of the electric car company, saying he made a series of “false and misleading” tweets about potentially taking Tesla private last month.
In a lawsuit, the regulator described Musk surprising members of his own team and investors with a series of tweets, starting with the Aug. 7 announcement that he was thinking of taking Tesla private. Twelve minutes after the first tweet, Tesla’s head of investor relations texted Musk’s chief of staff to ask whether Musk’s announcement was “legit,” the SEC said.
