Elon Musk Likely Under SEC Scrutiny for Dogecoin Tweets

Tesla CEO Elon Musk might be under SEC investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his flurry of Dogecoin tweets to cryptocurrency investors, according to an initial tweet from First Squawk — an audio-based financial newswire.

SEC IS SAID TO INVESTIGATE TESLA CHIEF EXECUTIVE MUSK FOR HIS TWEETS ON DOGECOIN: SOURCES FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER #Dogecoins #Tesla

— First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) February 25, 2021

Elon Musk likely under investigation for Dogecoin tweets

While the rumor has yet to acquire a confirmation, there is more than enough context in Musk’s recent Twitter activity to justify the suspicion.

We’ve known Musk’s tweets have been under SEC monitoring efforts for a while. In 2018, Musk misrepresented the likelihood of a private Tesla offering, and eventually reached a settlement with the SEC. As a result, the SEC has restricted and pre-approved Musk’s tweets regarding business activity, since 2019.

Taken together, these facts raise the likelihood that the SEC — which has shown increased interest in regulating cryptocurrency, is watching Musk’s tweets, combing them for relevance or potential effects on Dogecoin or other cryptocurrencies.

Seemingly in spite of rumored investigations, Musk has continued to tweet — the most recent of which related to Dogecoin was sent on Feb. 4, at 8:00 AM EST.

Dogecoin drops 5.7 percent amid SEC investigation rumors

At first glance, it seems improbable that Tesla CEO would tweet about Dogecoin while under current investigation by the SEC, but judging from his previous comments, he’s just as likely to ignore the information.

Elon Musk said he “[does] not respect the SEC” in 2018 during a Bloomberg interview. The tech billionaire also said his tweets were never censored by the SEC — because the regulator had reached a settlement with Tesla.

From the context of his expressed opinions, history, and recent tweets, it seems likely Elon Musk is under investigation by the SEC for his Dogecoin tweets. But since the rumors began circulating, Doge dropped 5.7% in 24 hours — much more drastic than Bitcoin’s 0.1% dip in the same day.