• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he criticizes everything his 42,000-plus employees show him: ‘You can’t go a day without some criticism’

3

Current price of oil as of May 27, 2026

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he criticizes everything his 42,000-plus employees show him: ‘You can’t go a day without some criticism’

3

Current price of oil as of May 27, 2026
Finance

Twitter Got Really Angry At Goldman Sachs for Upgrading Tesla Before Underwriting Stock

Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
Lucinda Shen
By
Lucinda Shen
Lucinda Shen
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 19, 2016, 1:12 PM ET
Courtesy of Tesla

Twitter thinks something smells a little vampire squid-y.

On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs (GS) got a social media smackdown for signing on as a lead underwriter of a $2 billion offering of Tesla Motors (TSLA) stock, just hours after the investment bank’s Tesla analyst upgraded the company to a “Buy” for the first time in three years. Goldman had previously rated the company a “Hold.” But on Wednesday morning, Patrick Achambault upgraded the stock and said Tesla’s shares could reach $250. Shares started the day at at just under $205.

That afternoon, Goldman was named the lead “book runner” for a $2 billion offering of Tesla stock. The electric car company is planning on using the money to finance its accelerated car production plan. For Goldman, the offering could generate nearly $50 million in fees, which Goldman would have to split with Tesla’s other underwriters.

Hours after the deal was announced, critics immediately took to Twitter and lambasted Goldman, saying the timing of the upgrade seemed a tad too coincidental:

Dear Goldman Sachs:
We're glad you're bullish on our stock.
Because we need to sell $1.4b more of it.
Love, Tesla$TSLA

— Kayla Tausche (@kaylatausche) May 18, 2016

Tesla upgraded by Goldman Sachs earlier in day. $GS named as one of underwriters for $TSLA stock offering after bell. Circle of life.

— Paul R. La Monica (@LaMonicaBuzz) May 18, 2016

See my earlier tweet about $tsla and $gs. Criminals!!

— NYC Trader (@szaman) May 18, 2016

Well this might be the most hilarious stock market meme you see today: https://t.co/GlMmoNHDDA$TSLA $GS

— Stocktwits (@Stocktwits) May 19, 2016

 

Others seemed to doubt any collusion, saying such a move by Goldman would be unnecessarily risky and blatant. Wall Street firms paid billions in fines following the dotcom bust to settle a number of charges related to their research operations, including promising positive stock ratings to win lucrative investment banking deals. In the wake of that settlement, new rules were set, and banks were forced to physically separate the two departments and insulate analysts by limiting communication between the two groups.

No way there was collusion between research/banking on $TSLA deal! Way 2 high profile for $GS to take that risk! https://t.co/F7b2QcrRBz

— David B. Seaburg (@DavidSeaburg) May 18, 2016

Other investment banks have run into trouble recently because of their research departments. Earlier this month, Stephens was fined $900,000 for its firm-wide internal “flash” emails sent by research analysts which could have included nonpublic information regarding the companies they cover. That information could be misused by sales and trading personnel, FINRA said.

That said, while perhaps improper, the rules about whether an investment bank can upgrade shares of a company in which it is participating in a secondary offering of its stock, like the Tesla deal, are murky. And it’s become murkier recently. Four years ago, Congress passed the JOBS Act, which, among other things, rolled back many of the prohibitions against analysts working together with investment bankers to land deals when it comes to so-called emerging growth companies. Tesla, because its revenue is over $1 billion, does not qualify as an emerging growth company, but it’s still not an easy call to say Goldman broke any rules.

Analysts at an investment bank doing a stock offering for a company, or even pitching doing a stock offering, are allowed to upgrade the shares of that company, as long as they haven’t been part of pitching the deal. There is no sign that Goldman’s Tesla analyst Achambault was part of the team pitching the stock deal. In fact, Achambault in his note predicted that Tesla would have to likely soon raise $1 billion in new capital. The offering is actually expected to raise $1.4 billion for the company. Musk is selling about $600 million worth of his shares as well.

Tesla also named Morgan Stanley as co-book runner, with Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as book-running managers.

But even if Achambault was in the room at the same time with Goldman bankers and Musk and the rest of Tesla’s executive time, Achambault, and Goldman, may have not broken any rules. Analysts are still allowed to be in pitch meetings as long as lawyers are also present in the meetings to “chaperone” the analysts and make sure they are not being used as part of the pitch.

A Goldman Sachs representative told Fortune that no such meeting between the potential underwriters, Archambault, lawyers, and Tesla occurred for the recently announced stock offering.

“Our Research is independent. We followed all of our standard policies and procedures with respect to our research publication on Wednesday,” the representative said in a statement.

Despite Goldman Sachs’ best efforts, it’s unlikely that the skepticism will abate. Banking, after all, doesn’t have the cleanest history.

About the Author
Lucinda Shen
By Lucinda Shen
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

g
CommentaryTraining
We gave our 5,000 employees a week to do nothing but learn AI. We learned the biggest blockers are human ones 
By Rob GiglioMay 28, 2026
43 minutes ago
Independent book stores are growing as people look for community in local spaces
Retailbooks
Independent book stores are growing as people look for community in local spaces
By The Associated Press and Hillel ItalieMay 28, 2026
50 minutes ago
The CFOs steering Big Tech’s trillion-dollar AI bet
NewslettersCFO Daily
The CFOs steering Big Tech’s trillion-dollar AI bet
By Sheryl EstradaMay 28, 2026
52 minutes ago
robot
CryptoRobots
This professor asked his robot clone about the future: ‘I think robots will coexist with people. Robots are the mirror of human beings’
By Yuri Kageyama and The Associated PressMay 28, 2026
1 hour ago
US President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
EconomyMarkets
A moonshot to avoid a $39 trillion national debt crisis will rely on AI productivity going even better than bulls are hoping for, says JPMorgan
By Eleanor PringleMay 28, 2026
1 hour ago
phone
InvestingMarketing
Gen Z’s Joe Camel moment: how prediction markets learned to speak in memes
By Kaitlyn Huamani, Nick Lichtenberg and The Associated PressMay 28, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
7 days ago
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he criticizes everything his 42,000-plus employees show him: ‘You can’t go a day without some criticism’
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he criticizes everything his 42,000-plus employees show him: ‘You can’t go a day without some criticism’
By Preston ForeMay 26, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 27, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 27, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 27, 2026
23 hours ago
Techlash grows in education: 'My daughter went to middle school and was sent home with a screen addiction in her backpack'
North America
Techlash grows in education: 'My daughter went to middle school and was sent home with a screen addiction in her backpack'
By Jocelyn Gecker and The Associated PressMay 26, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon said the American Dream was slipping away. JPMorgan just put $40 million on the table to fix it
Banking
Jamie Dimon said the American Dream was slipping away. JPMorgan just put $40 million on the table to fix it
By Nick LichtenbergMay 27, 2026
23 hours ago
Even if every California billionaire left tomorrow, it would take 25 years for the state to lose as much as it stands to gain from proposed wealth tax
Economy
Even if every California billionaire left tomorrow, it would take 25 years for the state to lose as much as it stands to gain from proposed wealth tax
By Tristan BoveMay 27, 2026
20 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.