On August 8, 2018, Elon Musk, high flying CEO of Tesla, Inc. tweeted to the world that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. He said he had the money. The price of the stock skyrocketed, trading was temporarily suspended and the SEC launched an investigation into potential price manipulation. The financing later appeared to have depended on inconclusive conversations with the Saudi government. Some securities lawyers began to consider the impact of Musk’s tweeting on Tesla stock investors, including those who might be invested through their 401k plans. Within a week of Musk’s surprise announcement, several investors had filed Tesla stock lawsuits, claiming that they had suffered financial losses as a result of market manipulation.
