據(jù)兩名知情人士告知，美國(guó)司法部正因特斯拉及其CEO埃隆·馬斯克的公開(kāi)言論對(duì)公司進(jìn)行調(diào)查。此次刑事調(diào)查和之前報(bào)道的證券監(jiān)管部門(mén)進(jìn)行的民事調(diào)查同時(shí)進(jìn)行。

上述兩名知情人士透露，馬斯克上個(gè)月發(fā)推特稱在考慮將特斯拉私有化，而且已經(jīng)找到了“可靠的資金”，因此聯(lián)邦檢察官開(kāi)展了欺詐調(diào)查。因?yàn)檫@是機(jī)密的刑事調(diào)查，兩位知情人士不愿意透露姓名。馬斯克私有化的推文一發(fā)出就拉升了特斯拉股票。

加州北區(qū)美國(guó)檢察官辦公室對(duì)特斯拉開(kāi)展調(diào)查前，美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)（SEC）已向這家電動(dòng)汽車制造商發(fā)出傳票，要求他們對(duì)馬斯克私有化的計(jì)劃進(jìn)行說(shuō)明，雖然后來(lái)馬斯克放棄了這個(gè)計(jì)劃。

其中一名知情人士稱，當(dāng)前刑事調(diào)查仍處于早期階段。美國(guó)司法部的調(diào)查和SEC的民事調(diào)查一樣，可能需要幾個(gè)月。調(diào)查結(jié)果也可能是檢察官?zèng)Q定不提出訴訟。

特斯拉的股票走勢(shì)出現(xiàn)逆轉(zhuǎn)，下跌4.4%至282美元。紐約時(shí)間周二上午11:45，股價(jià)降低2.5%跌至287.60美元，今年以來(lái)已下跌7.7%。

特斯拉并未立刻回應(yīng)此事。舊金山美國(guó)檢察官辦公室發(fā)言人亞伯拉罕·西蒙斯拒絕發(fā)表評(píng)論。

SEC調(diào)查

據(jù)彭博社8月9日?qǐng)?bào)道，舊金山辦公室的SEC執(zhí)法律師在馬斯克發(fā)表私有化的推文前就已經(jīng)開(kāi)始調(diào)查特斯拉了。據(jù)上述兩名知情人士透露，當(dāng)前調(diào)查主要針對(duì)特斯拉是否發(fā)布了具有誤導(dǎo)性的生產(chǎn)目標(biāo)和銷售目標(biāo)。

目前尚不清楚刑事調(diào)查的范圍是否也一樣寬泛。進(jìn)行證券欺詐調(diào)查的檢察官可能會(huì)就公司領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人是否故意欺瞞投資者公司的運(yùn)行狀況等問(wèn)題搜集證據(jù)。

馬斯克因?yàn)?月7日發(fā)推特說(shuō)獲得了資金能夠收購(gòu)特斯拉而將自己置于法律風(fēng)險(xiǎn)中，盡管他的推文說(shuō)的可能并非事實(shí)。差不多一周后，馬斯克說(shuō)自己發(fā)推文是因?yàn)樗蜕程匕⒗墓餐顿Y基金進(jìn)行了交流，這家基金會(huì)在2017年年初首次表達(dá)了有意幫助馬斯克實(shí)現(xiàn)公司私有化想法。

放棄努力

之后，特斯拉董事會(huì)稱公司未收到兼任董事會(huì)主席的馬斯克提交正式請(qǐng)求，也沒(méi)有就私有化是否可行或者是否有利做出結(jié)論。馬斯克發(fā)推文后不到三周，他就放棄了這一做法。

其中一名知情人士稱，因?yàn)轳R斯克的推文已經(jīng)引起了美國(guó)司法部的關(guān)注，調(diào)查人員可能會(huì)將他們的審查范圍擴(kuò)大到馬斯克關(guān)于公司運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)情況的其他公開(kāi)言論。他還透露，有關(guān)部門(mén)可能還會(huì)調(diào)查特斯拉首席會(huì)計(jì)官戴夫·莫頓任職不到一個(gè)月就辭職的相關(guān)情況。

莫頓曾任電腦硬盤(pán)制造商希捷科技的首席財(cái)務(wù)官，他加入特斯拉一天后，馬斯克就發(fā)表了那條推文，說(shuō)自己正在考慮以420美元一股的價(jià)錢(qián)收購(gòu)股票，將公司私有化。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Agatha

Tesla Inc. is under investigation by the Justice Department over public statements made by the company and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, according to two people familiar with the matter. The criminal probe is running alongside a previously reported civil inquiry by securities regulators.

Federal prosecutors opened a fraud investigation after Musk tweeted last month that he was contemplating taking Tesla private and had “funding secured” for the deal, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential criminal probe. The tweet initially sent the company’s shares higher.

The investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District of California follows a subpoena issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking information from the maker of electric cars about Musk’s plans to go private, which he has since abandoned.

The criminal inquiry is in its early stages, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Justice Department probes, like the civil inquiries undertaken by the SEC, can take months. They sometimes end with prosecutors deciding against bringing an enforcement action.

Tesla shares reversed gains and dropped as much as 4.4 percent to $282. The stock dropped 2.5 percent to $287.60 as of 11:45 a.m. Tuesday in New York and are down about 7.7 percent this year.

Tesla didn’t have an immediate comment. Abraham Simmons, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco, declined to comment.

SEC Probe

SEC enforcement attorneys in the San Francisco office were already investigating Tesla before Musk sent his tweet on taking the company private, Bloomberg reported Aug. 9. The existing probe focuses on whether Tesla had issued misleading pronouncements on manufacturing goals and sales targets, according to two people familiar with the matter.

It’s unclear whether the criminal investigation is that broad. Prosecutors in securities-fraud investigations could seek evidence on matters including whether company leaders intentionally lied to investors about the health of the business.

Musk exposed himself to legal risk by tweeting Aug. 7 that he had the funding for a buyout even though that may not have been the case. Almost a week later, Musk said the basis for his statement was conversations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which first expressed interest in helping take the company private in early 2017.

Abandoned Effort

Tesla’s board then said that it hadn’t received a formal proposal from Musk, who’s also the company’s chairman, nor had it concluded whether going private would be advisable or feasible. Less than three weeks after his initial tweets, Musk abandoned the effort.

Now that Musk’s tweeting has attracted the Justice Department’s attention, investigators there could extend their review to other public statements made by the CEO about the company’s health, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Authorities could also look into the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Tesla’s Chief Accounting Officer, Dave Morton, after less than a month on the job, the person said.

Morton, a former chief financial officer for computer hard-drive maker Seagate Technology Plc, joined Tesla one day before Musk tweeted that he was considering buying out some investors at $420 a share and taking the company private.