Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk on Thursday accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of harassing them ... with what they called an "endless" and "unrelenting" investigation...
...arguing that it is meant to punish Musk for being an outspoken critic of the government.
The accusation came in the form of a letter from Alex Spiro - a lawyer representing both Tesla and Musk - to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan.
Spiro added, "Enough is enough."
The SEC declined to comment.
Thursday's letter escalates Musk's battle with regulators as they scrutinize his social media posts and Tesla's treatment of workers, including accusations of discrimination.
The SEC sued Musk back in 2018 after he tweeted he had "funding secured" to potentially take his electric car company private at $420 per share - when in reality, a buyout was not close.
Tesla and Musk settled by agreeing to each pay $20 million in civil fines, and to let Tesla lawyers vet some of Musk's communications in advance, including tweets that could affect Tesla's stock price.
In addition, Musk gave up Tesla's chairmanship.
On Feb. 7, Tesla's disclosure said it had received a subpoena from the SEC about its compliance with the 2018 settlement.
Spiro has asked judge Nathan to schedule a conference to find out why the SEC is "issuing subpoenas unilaterally" without court approval, and why the settlement money isn't being distributed to Tesla shareholders.
Separately on Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a formal probe into Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles after receiving complaints about unexpected braking tied to its Autopilot system
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