Well, yeah, and there are already lawsuits charging that.
> “These are very difficult cases to prove,” said Mr. Stark, who runs a cybersecurity consulting business.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/business/dealbook/tesla-e...
because, based on rational math, if you add this expense and minus that, the result is 0 in 3 months. QED
now that bankruptcy sounds unlikely, all the news articles are focusing on how a tweet could be illegal
(The money was on Tesla either blowing it out of the park, or going broke in 2019/2020.)
In other words: 3 months ago no one was saying Tesla would be bankrupt by August/September.
And here's the thing: if Musk was truly honest about Tesla not seeking financing or offering new stock in 2018, they are on track for bankruptcy by the end of the year based on currently available investor documents re expense, cash flow, assets, etc.. If those documents are wrong, it's incumbent on Tesla to update them, not on the rest of us to assume voodoo financial magic will save the day.
The point is, all the articles raising alarm bells saying Tesla is going bankrupt SOON, it will run out of funds, it will collapse. Because math.
Now, all the articles are focused on SEC rules for a tweet.
Sounds like a violation of SEC rule 10b-5 and possibly illegal.