SEC Investigating Elon Musk, Brother Kimbal For Potential Violation Of Insider Trading Rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into recent trading activity by Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk. 

What Happened: According to a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC is investigating whether the Musk brothers violated insider trading rules. 

The investigation reportedly began last year around the time Elon polled Twitter users asking if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stake. Kimbal sold more than $100 million in Tesla shares around the same time.

A 10-K Filing at the beginning of February showed Tesla was subpoenaed in regard to a 2018 tweet in which the Tesla CEO talked about taking the company private, but the timing suggests the probe was sparked by the Twitter poll. 

The SEC issued the subpoena on Nov. 16, seeking to obtain information on Tesla's "governance processes around compliance," about a week and a half after Musk's Twitter post.

More recently, Musk pushed back against the SEC, accusing the commission of harassment related to its "unrelenting investigation."

Related Link: Elon Musk Goes After SEC (Again): Accuses Regulator Of Harassment With Its 'Unrelenting Investigation'

Today's news adds some fuel to the ongoing firefight between the SEC and the outspoken Tesla CEO.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares are down more than 30% since Musk began selling shares of the electric vehicle company. 

The stock closed up 4.81% at $800.77 on Thursday.

Photo: Steve Jurvetson from Flickr.