SEC Asks Judge To Hold Musk In Contempt Of Court Over Misleading Tweet

The Securities and Exchange Commission wants Tesla CEO Elon Musk held in contempt of court over a recent tweet.

In a complaint to a federal judge, the SEC claimed Musk violated his settlement agreement by publishing "inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers."

Musk tweeted last week that Tesla "will make around 500k [cars] in 2019." He later corrected himself, saying that with a production rate of 10,000 cars a week, the company will have an annualized production rate of around 500,000 cars at the end of 2019.  

The SEC says Musk violated his settlement agreement because he did not get company approval for the tweet. Last year, Musk settled with the SEC after the commission charged him with misleading investors when he tweeted he may take Tesla private. Musk was forced to step down as chairman of Tesla, pay a $20 million fine and get approval from an internal committee for all of his communications to investors — including tweets.   

Musk responded to the SEC's complaint Monday in another tweet. He said the "SEC forgot to read" the transcript from Tesla's earnings call, which he says "clearly states 350k to 500k." 

If Musk is found in contempt of court, he could be forced to pay a fine.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.