Tesla shares fall after report of criminal investigation

tesla-roadster

FILE- In this April 15, 2018, file photo, the sun shines off the rear deck of a roadster on a Tesla dealer's lot in the south Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo. Tesla is suing a former employee at its Nevada battery factory alleging that he hacked into the manufacturing computers and disclosed confidential trade secrets. The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, June 20, contends that Martin Tripp of Sparks, Nev., also made false claims to the media about information he stole, including claims that the company used punctured battery cells in the Model 3 electric car. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

tesla-roadster

DETROIT (AP) — Shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc. fell more than 5 percent Tuesday after a report that it’s under criminal investigation over statements about taking the company private.

Bloomberg News reported that the Justice Department probe is running parallel to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The news service cited two people familiar with the matter that it did not identify.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted last month that funding was secured to take the company private. The announcement raised the stock price 11 percent in one day, but it has since fallen.

Later the company admitted that funding wasn’t lined up and eventually Musk abandoned the idea.

Tesla shares fell 5.3 percent to $279.13 in midday trading. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.