By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK (AA) – Tesla confirmed Tuesday it is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) amid CEO Elon Musk announcing last month taking the company private.
“Last month, following Elon's announcement that he was considering taking the company private, Tesla received a voluntary request for documents from the DOJ and has been cooperative in responding to it, ” the company said.
“We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony, or any other formal process. We respect the DOJ's desire to get information about this and believe that the matter should be quickly resolved as they review the information they have received, ” it added.
When Musk wrote on Twitter on Aug. 7 he is considering taking Tesla private and the funding is secured, Tesla shares soared 11 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
A week later, Musk said he informed the board and added Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has enough capital to take the firm private.
However, Musk announced Aug. 24 Tesla will remain a public company, after he consulted with shareholders and the board.
Since Musk's initial statement, Tesla's stock price fell from $356.41 to $284.96 on Tuesday — a 20 percent loss.
The company's market value decreased from $60.8 billion to $48.6 billion.
