Musk Faces Another Risk... US Prosecutors Investigate Allegations of Company Fund Misuse

Investigation Expands into Misuse of Company Funds and Inappropriate Employee Deployment

The U.S. federal prosecutors have launched an investigation after allegations surfaced that Elon Musk, CEO, misappropriated company funds to build a glass house for himself. The investigation is expanding to include Musk's other companies as well.

On the 19th (local time), according to the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the U.S. Southern District of New York is investigating Tesla not only for Musk's residence but also for potential criminal charges related to personal benefits provided to Musk since he became CEO in 2017. WSJ added that this means the investigation covers matters dating back much earlier than previously known.

Elon Musk. [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Earlier last month, WSJ reported citing sources that an investigation had begun into whether Musk used Tesla's personnel and resources to build a house for his personal use.

Named "Project 42," this is a secret project to build a special glass structure near Tesla's headquarters in Austin, Texas. The house has an exterior reminiscent of a giant glass box, and the special ordered glass alone is known to cost millions of dollars.

Musk reportedly secretly assigned Tesla employees to this project and ordered the special glass for the house through Tesla. Upon learning this, Tesla's board of directors launched an investigation to determine the extent of Musk's involvement. However, the results of the board's investigation have not been disclosed publicly.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also investigating whether Tesla violated disclosure obligations related to this house construction project. According to U.S. financial regulatory rules, publicly listed companies must disclose transactions involving related parties, including executives, if the transaction amount exceeds $120,000 (approximately 160 million KRW).

Additionally, publicly listed companies must disclose if the total amount of perks and other personal benefits provided to top executives exceeds $10,000 (approximately 13 million KRW). In response to the controversy, Tesla stated that it generally does not provide perks or other personal benefits to its top executives.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.