RM LAW Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Tesla, Inc.

BERWYN, Pa., Sept. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RM LAW, P.C. announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: TSLA) securities between August 7, 2018 through August 17, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period").

Tesla shareholders may, no later than October 9, 2018, move the Court for appointment as a lead plaintiff of the Class.  If you purchased shares of Tesla and would like to learn more about these claims or if you wish to discuss these matters and have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights, contact Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire toll-free at (844) 291-9299 or to sign up online, click here.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Tesla Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance electric vehicles and electric vehicle powertrain components. The Company owns its sales and service network and sells electric powertrain components to other automobile manufacturers.  It primarily offers sedans and sport utility vehicles.

On August 7, 2018, Defendant Elon Musk, Tesla's co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), issued the following statement via Twitter: "Am Considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."

In reaction to Musk's tweet, the price of Tesla's common stock increased, reaching an intra-day high of $387.46 per share?$45.47 per share higher than the previous day's closing price?and closed at $379.57 per share on August 7, 2018, an increase of $37.58 per share, or approximately 11%.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants had not secured funding for a transaction to take Tesla private; (ii) Tesla's Board of Directors was unaware of any plan to take Tesla private; (iii) Musk had not retained advisors in connection with his purported plan to take Tesla private; (iv) the status and likelihood of Tesla going private was therefore misrepresented to the market; and (v) as a result, Tesla's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On August 8, 2018, reports began to emerge that the SEC had made inquiries into Musk's tweet and whether it was truthful that he did, in fact, have "funding secured" to take Tesla private.

Following this news, Tesla's stock price fell $9.23 per share, or 2.4%, to close at $370.34 per share on August 8, 2018.

On August 9, 2018, Tesla's stock price continued to fall after facts emerged after the market closed on August 8, 2018 and later on August 9, 2018 that Musk's tweet had, in fact, triggered an SEC inquiry. For example, The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC "has asked Musk to produce proof that he's secured funding. . ." and numerous other media sources reported that Musk did not have funding secured prior to issuing his statement to that effect via Twitter.

Following this news, Tesla's stock price fell by more than $17.89 per share, nearly 5%, to close at $352.45 per share on August 9, 2018, resulting in a two-day decline of more than 7%.

On August 13, 2018, post-market, Musk stated via Twitter: "I'm excited to work with Silver Lake and Goldman Sachs as financial advisers, plus Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson as legal advisors, on the proposal to take Tesla private."  However, on August 14, 2018, Bloomberg reported that at the time of Musk's August 13, 2018 Twitter announcement, neither Goldman Sachs nor Silver Lake were yet working with Musk pursuant to a signed agreement or in an official capacity.

On this news, Tesla's stock price fell $8.77 per share, or nearly 2.5%, to close at $347.64 per share on August 14, 2018.

Then, on August 16, 2018, The New York Times published an interview with Musk in which he described the circumstances leading up to the tweet, including his high stress levels and his use of the sedative-hypnotic sleep medication Ambien in order to cope with his stress.

On this news, the price of Tesla stock declined $29.95 per share, or 8.93%, to close at $305.50 per share on August 17, 2018.

On August 24, 2018, Musk issued a statement on the Company's website, stating that he would abandon his plan to take Tesla private.

If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than October 9, 2018, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class.  A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.  In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class.  Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff."  Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.  You may retain RM LAW, P.C. or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

For more information regarding this, please contact RM LAW, P.C.  (Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire) toll-free at (844) 291-9299 or by email at [email protected] or click here.   For more information about class action cases in general or to learn more about RM LAW, P.C. please visit our website by clicking here. 

RM LAW, P.C. is a national shareholder litigation firm.  RM LAW, P.C. is devoted to protecting the interests of individual and institutional investors in shareholder actions in state and federal courts nationwide.

SOURCE RM LAW, P.C.