Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday to investigate the many possible conflicts of interest that have come from Elon Musk's dual role as Tesla's CEO and Twitter's owner.
Musk, though, thinks that Warren's concern is not with conflicts of interest. It's with free speech.
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Warren Redlich, who runs the Daily Lie, tweeted in response to Warren's announcement: "Odd that she saw no problems with such conflicts with SpaceX, Boring Company and Neuralink. It’s only when Elon fights for free speech that she sees a problem."
In his only response to Warren's letter, Musk very simply agreed with Redlich's tweet.
Exactly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2023
Warren's letter to the SEC chairman highlighted a whole slew of concerns, including several violations of SEC law. In the letter, Warren asserts that Musk misappropriated (TSLA) -) resources by funneling dozens of employees to Twitter after his acquisition of the platform. She also expressed concern over a potential conflict of interest around Twitter's main goal of selling ads to clients that could include Tesla rivals like Ford and GM.
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"As the owner of Twitter, Mr. Musk could decide to run the company to maximize badly-needed revenue, even if that includes great deals for Tesla’s competitors and potential injury to Tesla," Warren wrote. "Alternatively, Mr. Musk could run Twitter to benefit Tesla through favorable algorithms or free advertising."
Warren also questioned the efficacy of Tesla's board to ensure that its CEO acts in the best interest of the company.
"The Board’s inaction and inadequate disclosures, and the close relationships of several Board members to Mr. Musk, raise questions about the effectiveness of their corporate governance and potential violations of securities laws," Warren wrote.
An SEC spokesperson told The Street Monday that SEC Chairperson Gary Gensler will respond to members of Congress directly, rather than through the media.
Read the full letter here.
