Tesla shareholder sues Elon Musk for billions in alleged illegal profits: Tech : Tech Times

An institutional shareholder complaint filed Tuesday accuses Elon Musk of making billions selling Tesla stock using inside information.

The Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI) wants Tesla CEO to repay “illegal profits,” according to Reuters. The suit was filed two days before Tesla shareholders' crucial vote on whether to reinstate Musk's $56 billion compensation package, which a Delaware judge struck down in January due to the billionaire's improper control of technology.

Elon Musk reportedly used his profits to buy Twitter

The complaint claims that Musk and his brother, Tesla executive Kimbal Musk, sold $30 billion in Tesla stock between late 2021 and 2022, ahead of news that would send the shares lower. According to ERSRI, Elon Musk sold the shares at inflated prices while concealing his plans to buy Twitter, which he eventually renamed X.

According to the lawsuit, Musk traded Tesla shares after learning that Tesla car deliveries were significantly lower than expected. Elon Musk has not responded to this allegation at this time.

ERSRI, which owns 140,000 Tesla shares worth $24 million, is not the only shareholder suing. Mike Perry, another Tesla shareholder, accused Musk of insider trading last month for selling more than $7.5 billion worth of Tesla stock in late 2022.

Investigators are also looking into Musk for violating federal securities laws in 2022 by purchasing Twitter stock.

ERSRI accuses Musk of steering Tesla staff toward X and forcing Tesla to pay for advertising on Twitter after owning the platform. Insufficient oversight of Elon Musk's conflicts of interest by Tesla's board of directors has worried the fund's general treasurer.

The complaint also claims that Elon Musk encouraged xAI, of which he is CEO, to hire Tesla staff and redirect Tesla AI chips to the X and xAI messaging platform. This raises concerns that Musk will favor the development of AI outside of Tesla.

Elon Musk posted on X that Tesla had no location to store and enable Nvidia AI chips.

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Elon Musk had sex with ex-employee: report

In another controversy, a former SpaceX intern claims to have had a brief sexual relationship with Elon Musk.

According to a Business Insider report, Elon Musk met the lady in the early 2010s while she was studying at SpaceX. She told her friends that she contacted Musk with suggestions for improving the company, which led to a date and a “Star Wars” kiss.

The report, citing a Wall Street Journal article, said Musk took the lady to Sicily to meet him at a resort, citing records. In 2017, Musk personally approached the lady for a management position. According to her lawyers, she left SpaceX in 2019.

In affidavits submitted by the woman's lawyers, she denied dating Musk while she worked at SpaceX from 2017 to 2019. The woman noted that Elon Musk did not commit any “predatory or wrongful” acts against her. regard during his employment with the company.

The lawyers, who also represent Musk, acknowledged his past romantic relationship with the SpaceX CEO. People with knowledge of the matter said she visited Musk at his home several times while working at SpaceX.

The report does not name the woman, but she and Musk's lawyers submitted letters requesting the article's removal.

In recent years, SpaceX has been criticized for sexual harassment.

These developments come after Elon Musk dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, previously reported by TechTimes.

The complaint accused ChatGPT's maker of breaching its contract and abandoning its goal of improving humanity through AI technology.

The tech mogul filed the lawsuit in California state court in February. The withdrawal comes a day before the judge evaluates the motion to dismiss OpenAI's case.

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