Elon Musk said he 'probably' wouldn't take money from Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi's death (TSLA)

pulse

November 2, 2018 4:32 PM

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he "probably" wouldn't take an investment from Saudi Arabia in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death.

Saudi Arabia's government has been under intense scrutiny since Khashoggi, a journalist who had written critically about the Saudi government Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in early October.
Khashoggi's death has prompted questions about the role Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has played in financing American businesses and the ethics of taking investments from governments with reputations for violating human rights.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with Recode published on Friday that he "probably" wouldn't take an investment from Saudi Arabia in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death.

"Would you take their money now?" Recode executive editor Kara Swisher asked.

Tesla ultimately remained a public company, and Musk's statements about potentially taking Tesla private led to an investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a reported investigation from the Department of Justice. The SEC investigation resulted in a settlement with Musk that requires him to step down as the chairman of Tesla's board of directors for three years and pay a $20 million fine.