Tesla CEO Elon Musk is defending the company’s decision to purchase SolarCity in court throughout this week, as Tesla shareholders allege that the 2016 decision was made at the company and shareholders’ expense to bail out the company, which was founded and run by Musk’s cousins.
On Tuesday, Musk was asked to explain meeting notes by a financial advisor which said that Musk had suggested the board offer a $28.50 USD share price for SolarCity, according to Reuters. The statement was made despite earlier claims that he was not, in fact, part of the board committee that had negotiated the deal.
Elon Musk to Defend Tesla’s SolarCity Acquisition in Court Next Week https://t.co/7VVvaxEOo4
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 7, 2021
In response to the questioning by shareholder attorney Randall Baron, Musk said that he was simply making a point that any offer would be sufficient.
Musk said, “I was making the obvious point that any offer, if not publicly defensible, will be rejected by SolarCity shareholders.” When pressed about why he was reviewing deal packets before Tesla’s board sent them to directors, Musk later testified, “It’s part of the board process to make sure they have full and accurate information.”
Repeating statements from Monday, Musk explained that the deal had to be performed quickly, since SolarCity was undergoing major cash flow shortages, and was prevented from dealing with other companies while the two companies were in talks.
Elon’s brother Kimbal is set to testify on Tuesday, as the judge looks for evidence that Musk may have threatened or pushed board members and directors into the deal with SolarCity.
