Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters
Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission are reportedly investigating why Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Tuesday on Twitter that he was considering taking the company private. The tweet initially sent the company’s stock price soaring more than 5 percent. Sources cited by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said officials at the SEC’s San Francisco office have already made inquiries to the electric car maker about Musk’s tweet, in which he said funding had already been “secured.” Regulators reportedly want to know whether Musk’s comments about the transaction being contingent on one shareholder vote were factual. It wasn’t immediately clear if the agency had opened a formal investigation into the matter, but Musk could face trouble if investigators find reason to believe he misled shareholders to boost the company’s share price.