Later in 2020, numerous reporters and financial analysts speculated that Tesla could be the next Wirecard scandal. In November 2019, hedge fund manager David Einhorn accused Elon Musk of "significant fraud" and in April 2020, questioned Tesla's accounting, in particular their large accounts receivable balance. The lawsuit was dismissed in Tesla's favor in March 2019.
Department of Justice also began an investigation in 2018 into whether Tesla misled investors and misstated production figures about the Model 3. In 2017, a lawsuit alleged Tesla made materially false and misleading statements regarding its preparedness to produce Model 3 cars. A lawsuit filed in March 2021 alleges that Musk violated his fiduciary duty to Tesla by continuing to send "erratic" tweets in violation of the SEC settlement, and that the board has failed to control Musk. According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC told Tesla in May 2020 that the company had failed "to enforce these procedures and controls despite repeated violations by Mr. Tesla also agreed to pay a $20 million fine and put in place additional controls to oversee Musk's communications. Musk settled the fraud charges with the SEC, agreeing to pay a $20 million fine and stepping down as Tesla's chairman. The SEC also charged Tesla with failing to have adequate controls and procedures in place regarding Musk's tweets. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Musk with securities fraud for his "false and misleading" statements after tweeting that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private. On June 5, 2020, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. Tesla was also party to a lawsuit filed in July 2018, alleging that SolarCity improperly fired three employees who blew the whistle on fraudulent sales records at the company. In order to gain shareholder support for the buyout, Musk unveiled the Solar Roof in October 2016, but the Solar Roof tiles that Musk displayed were later revealed to be fake. The shareholders claim that Musk knew SolarCity was going broke before the buyout, that Musk failed to properly recuse himself from the deal-making process, and that the deal was, in effect, a bailout of Musk's cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive. The so-described "SolarCity debacle" led a group of Tesla shareholders to file a lawsuit alleging Musk breached his fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched himself in Tesla's buyout of SolarCity in 2016. § Securities litigation relating to the SolarCity acquisition
See also: List of lawsuits involving Tesla, Inc.