#FundingSecured
Elon Musk’s infamous tweet claiming Tesla buyout funding led to SEC fraud charges.
Origin & Impact
On August 7, 2018, Elon Musk tweeted “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” The hashtag erupted as Tesla’s stock surged, trading was halted, and confusion reigned. The $420 price—weed reference—seemed like a joke, but Musk insisted it was real. The SEC sued Musk for securities fraud, revealing the funding was NOT actually secured.
The settlement cost Musk and Tesla $20 million each, forced Musk to step down as Tesla chairman, and required lawyer approval for his tweets. The hashtag became shorthand for executive recklessness in the social media age. Musk claimed he was joking to impress Grimes with the weed number. It became one of the most expensive tweets in history and foreshadowed Musk’s increasingly chaotic Twitter presence.
Related Hashtags
#ElonMusk #Tesla #SEC