Senator Elizabeth Warren demands answers from Tesla board over Elon Musk's Twitter actions

Influential US senator questions whether Elon Musk is meeting his legal obligations to Tesla

Jared Kushner and Elon Musk watch the Fifa World Cup final match between Argentina and France. Getty Images

Mr Musk attends model and businesswoman Heidi Klum's 2022 Halloween party at Moxy Lower East Side, in New York City Getty

Mr Musk on stage next to Optimus the humanoid robot in Palo Alto, California, in September 2022 AFP

Mr Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing 'Cyber Rodeo' grand opening party, in Austin, Texas, in 2022 AFP

Mr Musk shakes hands with Brazil's then president Jair Bolsonaro, at the event Conecta Amazonia in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, in 2022 AFP

Mr Musk and his mother, Maye Musk, arrive for the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in 2022 AFP

Mr Musk attends the start of the production at Tesla's Gigafactory in Gruenheide, in 2022 AFP

Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Mr Musk as Wario during the 'Wario' sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in 2021 Getty

Mr Musk and son X Æ A-12 onstage at 'Time' Person of the Year in New York, in 2021 AFP

Mr Musk dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai, in 2021 Reuters

Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, at the time CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, at the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, in 2021 Getty

Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, in 2020 EPA

Mr Musk leaves a New York court in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission Getty

A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019 Reuters

Mr Musk and then partner Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018 AFP

From left, Mr Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky at the White House, in 2017 AFP

Mr Musk presents his plan to colonise Mars at the International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016 EPA

Mr Musk with then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015 Reuters

Mr Musk with then wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 British Academy Film Awards in London Getty

Mr Musk after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010 Reuters

Then US president Barack Obama with Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010 Reuters

Mr Musk in the Tesla Roadster electric car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, in 2009 Reuters

Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones at the Tesla Roadster launch party in 2008 AFP

Mr Musk answers questions about the new Tesla Model S all-electric car, at its unveiling in Hawthorne, California, in 2009 AFP

Elon Musk in Los Angeles in 2008. Getty

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk in 2004 Getty

Democratic US Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Tesla's board on Monday questioning whether Elon Musk is meeting his legal obligations to the car maker and its shareholders following his purchase of Twitter.

Ms Warren wrote that Mr Musk’s actions at the helm of Twitter have “raised questions about possible violations of securities or other laws”.

“Despite widespread concerns about Mr Musk’s acquisition of Twitter while serving as CEO of Tesla, it remains unclear whether the Tesla board — which has key decision-making authority within the company — is adequately governing the company or if it has established clear rules and policies to address the risks to Tesla posed by Mr Musk’s dual roles,” Ms Warren wrote.

Mr Musk has pulled Tesla engineers away from the electric car company to help out at Twitter since he bought the platform for $44 billion earlier this year.

The senator’s letter also raised concerns about whether there is a conflict of interest between his roles at Tesla and Twitter, particularly because Tesla competitors such as Audi AG advertise on Twitter’s platform.

The Tesla chief was uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter on Monday, a day after he asked users if he should step down from leading the company.

He had promised to abide by the results of the poll but had made no comment as of 1.45pm ET.

Mr Musk's takeover of Twitter has been disastrous for Tesla stockholders, who this year have seen the car maker lose more than 60 per cent in value as he has tweeted right-wing political views, alienating a large chuck of his liberal customer base.

Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, said the end of Mr Musk's reign as Twitter chief executive would be “a major positive for Tesla’s stock starting to slowly remove this albatross from the story”.

“Time to end this nightmare as CEO of Twitter,” he wrote.

Bloomberg contributed to this report

Tesla field engineers heat test vehicles in Dubai — in pictures

Tesla field quality engineers have been in Dubai at the hottest time of the year, analysing the electric cars for their durability and performance in extreme temperatures. All photos: Tesla

Tesla posted about the tests on Instagram, saying the cars had experienced temperatures greater than 50°C.

The line-up of cars tested includes the Model Y, the refreshed Model X and the Model 3.

The engineers took on sand, mountain roads and gravel-strewn tracks.

Testing a car for durability requires it to be pushed to the limit.

The company does its cold weather testing in Alaska, the US.

The engineers may also have looked at the performance of the new heat pump, which was introduced into the Model Y last year.

Hitting the dunes.

Tesla field quality engineers will study the data to help improve the performance of the electric vehicles.