A lawsuit involving a 2018 tweet by Elon Musk in which he claimed to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private has subpoenaed the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
On December 19, Tesla’s legal team served papers on the PIF governor Yasir al-Rumayyan’s office administrator, according to court documents submitted on Tuesday to a federal court in California.
The trial is set to begin in San Francisco later this month, and the defendants—among them Tesla CEO Musk—are requesting that al-Rumayyan, who also serves as the chairman of Saudi Aramco, testify.
Al- Rumayyan’s potential testimony might concentrate on the conversations the PIF had with Musk prior to his “funding secured” declaration.
When Musk tweeted in August 2018 that he had financing in place to take the automaker private at a price of $420 per share, the investors who filed the lawsuit claim he was manipulating the price of Tesla’s stock. There was never a deal.
In prior public appearances and court documents, Musk has claimed that a “handshake” agreement had been reached with al-Rumayyan and the fund to provide the funds necessary to remove Tesla from the public markets.
However, documents in the case have shown how the relationship between Musk and al-Rumayyan ended after a Bloomberg article claimed that the PIF was only in discussions regarding the idea of going private.
“You said you were definitely interested in taking Tesla private and had wanted to do so since 2016,” Musk wrote to al-Rumayyan in a text message exchange on August 12 2018, published in court filings, saying he had been thrown “under the bus” by a “weak sauce” statement issued by the PIF in response to the story.
Musk added: “You also made it clear that you were the decision maker, moreover backed strongly by the Crown Prince, who regards this as strategically important at a national level.”
Al-Rumayyan responded by writing that it “takes two to tango” and that the fund had not received the necessary financial information from Tesla.
“Let’s see the numbers and get our people to meet and discuss. We cannot approve something that we don’t have sufficient information on,” al-Rumayyan wrote, adding: “I am your friend. So, please don’t treat me like an enemy.”
Musk tried to find outside investors to take Tesla private when financing fell through, but he gave up the plan within two weeks.
Requests for comments on the subpoena from Musk’s legal counsel went unanswered. Additionally served were three additional PIF executives, according to court documents. The PIF claimed it had nothing to say right away.
A 10-day trial is scheduled to start on January 17 and conclude in 10 days. Potential witnesses include Musk, Tesla’s board members, its CFO, and its head of investor relations, as well as notable figures from Silicon Valley like Silver Lake managing partner Egon Durban and Oracle co-founder and close friend of Musk Larry Ellison.
For Musk, the “funding secured” tweet has been costly. To resolve legal action brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, he and Tesla each paid $20 million. Musk had to step down from his position as Tesla’s chair as well, but he retained his CEO title.
Following the revelation that vehicle deliveries in the final quarter of 2022 were less than anticipated, Tesla shares dropped 12.2% on Tuesday. Over the past 12 months, the share price has decreased by almost 72%.
