[adrianb]

But a public company has higher public transparency obligations than a private one. Why do you think being afraid of Elon will make them more transparent than being afraid of the SEC?

[mdorazio]

Cynically, the SEC will only issue fines in most cases. Elon will (according to accounts from friends who have worked at his companies) fire leadership without hesitation and possibly publicly shame them, too.

[martythemaniak]

> and possibly publicly shame them, too

You accidentally hit upon what "free speech" means when used by whales. If Musk berates and bullies an employee with endless racist and sexist slurs, he'd get in trouble. But if he points his mook armies at that same employee and subjects them to the same abuse, it's all good. Just freedom of speech.

[JaimeThompson]

It is never a good sign when a leader holds others to standards they themselves aren't held to.

[christkv]

They are worried about the lawsuits that would be filed against the board and the executive if they find fraud after the deal closes.