Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will face increased scrutiny from regulators in the wake of a tweetstorm by CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday claiming the electric-car maker had funding to be taken private, according to a Wall Street Journal story.
Citing unnamed sources, the Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is examining whether Musk's claim that he had secured funding to go private was truthful, and inquired why the disclosure was made on Twitter and not in a regulatory filing.
READ: Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes Wall Street on a wild ride, considers taking electric automaker private
The stock immediately fell nearly 3% and closed at US$370.34 on news of the probe Wednesday.
The shares surged more than 12% Tuesday afternoon before being halted as Musk unleashed a series of tweets about his desire to take the company private, punctuated by complaints about short-sellers.
Earlier Wednesday, independent Tesla board members reportedly said that they had met with the Musk several times to discuss the possibility of going private.
Shares of Tesla were little-changed in after-hours trading.
--Adds details of meeting with board members--
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