Marquette's AIM Program is Committed to Making the Curriculum Relevant and Pertinent

Newest AIM Class to Study the SEC’s Probe of Elon Musk’s “Funding Secured” Tesla Tweet

Elon Musk thinking about his next tweet

Dr.David Krause, AIM Program Director, has taught the AIM introductory course since 2005 (which includes elements of security law and regulation) and is always looking for ways to make the curriculum as relevant as possible.

This week the AIM students in the Class of 2020 will be studying and discussing whether or not Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, was truthful when he tweeted in August that he had secured funding for what would be the largest-ever corporate buyout. 

Is this a violation of Regulation FD?

The students will be studying why officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) want to know whether Musk had a factual basis for tweeting that the going-private transaction was all but certain, with only a shareholder vote needed to complete it. 

The SEC's inquiries into potential violations of US securities law suggest that Musk and Tesla could come under an enforcement investigation (and penalties) if regulators find that Mr. Musk's tweeted statement was misleading or false.

Marquette AIM Director, David Krause

Krause said, “This is an excellent example of applied learning. Why study a case that is a decade old, when you can examine in near real-time what the SEC is considering based on Musk's tweet that he had funding secured to take Tesla private?"

With access to the on-line version of the Wall Street Journal, AIM students can follow this story and others – making class discussions relevant and real. Dr. Krause continued, “We are working to change higher education by combining the best of the brick-and-click world. Where appropriate, we can use on-line curriculum to deliver content – allowing for more class time devoted to discussion of relevant issues. We can combine lectures, class discussion and experiential learning into almost every class meeting.”

 

By reading and discussion timely articles that address today’s financial and business news (i.e. the implications of Elon Musk tweeting about plans to take Tesla private), the AIM curriculum remains pertinent.  

Is Twitter is a good forum for CEOs to communicate with shareholders? We’ll let you know what the students think about this and other current topics throughout the semester.