美国国家公共电台 NPR--Elon Musk will be in court in San Francisco over a 2018 tweet involving Tesla

Elon Musk¹ will be in court in San Francisco over a 2018 tweet involving Tesla

Transcript²

Jury selection begins Tuesday in a securities-fraud trial involving Elon Musk. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to CNBC reporter Lora Kolodney about the case, which was brought by Tesla shareholders³.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Jury selection begins today in a San Francisco federal court where Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, are on trial.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Yeah, seems a series of posts on Twitter in 2018 has gotten Musk in hot water with shareholders of the electric car company. They claim his statements cost them a lot of money.

FADEL: Lora Kolodny is a tech reporter with CNBC who's been following this story. And she joins me now from San Francisco. Welcome.

LORA KOLODNY: Thank you so much for having me.

FADEL: OK, Lora, break down why Tesla and Elon Musk are on trial for us.

KOLODNY: So I'm sure you remember in 2018, Elon Musk caused a lot of excitement when he tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, and he had funding secured to do so. Some people kind of took that as, like, a cannabis joke. And other people took it more seriously. And after that, Tesla shares spiked⁴ on the news of a possible deal. Trading was halted, and then trading was very volatile⁵ for several weeks after that. And investors⁶ who bought Tesla stock at pretty elevated prices at that time later sued, saying that they lost money after the shares declined. And it became clear that Musk had not exactly secured funding.

FADEL: So could Musk face serious consequences for his tweets?

KOLODNY: So the judge and jury are going to have to decide whether Musk's tweets had a material effect on the stock price and whether investors were relying on his tweets and statements to make their trading decisions. And then if there were any damages, they'll have to sort of figure out who should be liable to pay and what level of damages. That's one thing. I'm sure it won't - if Musk and Tesla lose, it probably won't, you know, break his bank, but the SEC would feel very vindicated⁷. You probably recall Musk and Tesla already each paid a $20 million fine to the SEC over the tweets. The financial regulators had charged Musk with civil securities fraud and struck this settlement agreement. And Musk has been unhappy about it ever since.

If he prevails, on the other hand, you know, he'll succeed in clearing his name and making the SEC look badly for their prior charges and then for all the ongoing⁸ investigations⁹ to see if Elon Musk and Tesla have been in compliance¹⁰ with the terms of that settlement agreement. So no matter the outcome, this verdict could be appealed. And it's also possible that this case could settle out. But I see Musk as a risk taker, and I think he will keep fighting to try to clear his name and, frankly¹¹, to get revenge on the regulators.

FADEL: How are Tesla investors reacting to the trial?

KOLODNY: I think, honestly, Tesla shareholders have much bigger fish to fry. They're not sure how much the damages could amount to if Musk or Tesla have to pay. But what they are really worried about right now is distraction¹² for Musk. Musk is already stretched very thin. You know, he's newly become the CEO and owner of Twitter.

FADEL: Yeah.

KOLODNY: He continues to spend a lot of hours working at Twitter. And he's appointed himself, you know, Chief Twit and made a whole bunch of controversial decisions there. Some of these are alienating¹³, you know, a core market for Tesla, the liberal-leaning people who were part of Tesla's core market in the U.S. and Europe historically. Additionally, you know, Tesla has slashed¹⁴ its prices on cars worldwide. And shareholders are really worried about that. It could, you know, hit profitability. And there's now a question of a demand cliff. Are Tesla cars still in demand?

FADEL: Lora Kolodny covers the tech industry for CNBC. Thanks so much.

KOLODNY: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF JERK'S "SINGLE SPEED")

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

5 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

14 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》