Audit log

Every state-changing event for TSLA: moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions are designed to carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key. Archive coverage is still being backfilled, so each decision below reports its own snapshot status rather than assuming one exists.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-10-08 08:09:05Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchorfailed

   chain

   ●—

   hash

   GjgfDWLDyeBR…3N2hZCvzcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…

   canonical bytes (17589 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a4d0f101-1aca-413c-8eab-52c6ab3c4a11","kind":"publish","page_slug":"tsla","published_at":"2026-10-08T08:09:05.474Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"TSLA","sections":[{"content":"Several licensed or semi-licensed entities issue tokens intended to track the market price of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares, rather than being issued or endorsed by Tesla itself. Backed Finance issues a Solana-based token (ticker TSLAx, also marketed as part of the \"xStock\" product line) described as a blockchain-based tracker certificate, with Backed Assets (JE) Limited as issuer, Backed Finance AG as tokenizer, and Alpaca Securities, InCore Bank, and Maerki Baumann named as brokers/custodians; DeFiLlama lists roughly $63.7 million of the token's on-chain market cap on Solana. Ondo Finance offers a restricted-access tokenized equity product (TSLAON) described as intended for \"eligible participants\" rather than the general public. Crypto.com, through its Cronos-chain product issued by Foris Capital (with a separate entity, Foris Capital MU Ltd, used outside the European Economic Area), offers a synthetic derivative tracking the TSLA price that explicitly does not confer ownership of the underlying security or voting/dividend rights. In all these cases, industry guides (e.g., Chainlink) and the issuers' own disclosures state that holders typically receive economic exposure to the share price only, not shareholder rights, and that redemption and legal recourse depend on the issuer's solvency and jurisdiction.","heading":"Legitimate tokenized-stock products using the TSLA ticker","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla, Inc. (Crypto.com Tokenized Stock)(TSLA) — DeFiLlama","type":"research","url":"https://defillama.com/rwa/asset/TSLAcryptocom"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla xStock(TSLAx) — DeFiLlama","type":"research","url":"https://defillama.com/rwa/asset/TSLAx"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenized Tesla Stock: Guide to Onchain Equities — Chainlink","type":"other","url":"https://chain.link/article/tokenized-tesla-stock-guide-to-onchain-equities"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla tokenized stock (xStock) (TSLAX) — Trust Wallet","type":"other","url":"https://trustwallet.com/price/tesla-tokenized-stock-xstock"}]},{"content":"In April 2021, Binance launched tokenized stock products, including one tracking Tesla, in partnership with CM-Equity AG, a licensed German investment firm, with each token said to be fully backed by shares held by CM-Equity. In April 2021, Germany's financial regulator BaFin stated it had \"reasonable grounds\" to suspect Binance had violated German securities law by offering the stock tokens without a required prospectus, later naming Binance explicitly. Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission separately warned that Binance was not licensed to offer securities-like tokens in Hong Kong, and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority opened an investigation into whether the tokens constituted securities. On 16 July 2021, Binance announced it would stop offering stock tokens \"effective immediately,\" framing the move as a shift in commercial focus, with support for existing token holders ending on 14 October 2021. Coverage at the time characterized the shutdown as a response to mounting multi-jurisdictional regulatory pressure.","heading":"Binance's 2021 TSLA stock token and its regulatory shutdown","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"German regulators frown at Binance's stock tokens offering — Investing.com","type":"news_article","url":"https://investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/german-regulators-frown-at-binances-stock-tokens-offering-2490308"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance stops stock token sales, 'effective immediately' — Cointelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-stops-stock-token-sales-effective-immediately"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto exchange Binance halts operations of Tesla, Facebook, Google stock tokens — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/76126/crypto-exchange-binance-halts-operations-tesla-facebook-google-stock-tokens"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance Pulls Digital 'Stock Tokens' After Crackdown — Silicon UK","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/legal/binance-stock-tokens-407259/amp"}]},{"content":"Malwarebytes researchers reported identifying a turnkey cybercrime kit, priced at $500 and sold by a forum actor using the handle \"xrep\" (active on the underground forum since March 2026), that lets anyone build a fake \"$TSLA token presale\" website impersonating Tesla's brand and logo. According to Malwarebytes, the kit pulls a visitor's real X (Twitter) profile picture to fabricate a personalized \"token allocation,\" and uses fake fundraising progress bars, countdown timers, and price-increase warnings to pressure victims. Two theft routes were described: victims are asked to \"connect a wallet\" for a supposed 15% bonus but are instead prompted to enter their 12-word seed phrase, or they are shown a fabricated token balance and told to manually send Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, or Dogecoin to a scammer-controlled address. The kit reportedly includes an operator control panel for monitoring victims' usernames and locations, harvesting recovery phrases, and inflating displayed balances to solicit further deposits. Malwarebytes states it discovered the kit on May 16; secondary reporting (Cryptopolitan, Help Net Security, Mitrade) published in August 2026 does not clarify the year of discovery with certainty, though context in these 2026 reports suggests 2026. These outlets emphasize that Tesla, Inc. has not issued any cryptocurrency token, making any such \"$TSLA presale\" fraudulent by definition.","heading":"Fake $TSLA presale toolkit (2026)","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"New turnkey kit makes it easy for anyone to become a scammer — Malwarebytes","type":"research","url":"https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/scams/2026/08/new-turnkey-kit-makes-it-easy-for-anyone-to-become-a-scammer"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ready-made $500 kit puts a crypto scam within anyone's reach — Help Net Security","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/12/crypto-scam-kit-cybercrime-forum/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Turnkey $500 Scam Kit Enables Fake $TSLA Token Presales to Drain Victim Wallets — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/kit-scam-tsla-presale-drains-crypto/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fake $TSLA presale uses wallet screening to target victims for draining — Mitrade","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1990756-20260813"}]},{"content":"Independent of the 2026 presale kit, security researchers have documented a long-running series of scams that falsely invoke Tesla and Elon Musk to solicit cryptocurrency. Security blogs including MalwareTips and PCrisk describe recurring campaigns under names such as \"CryptoMusk.io,\" \"Tesla-musk24.com,\" and a fake \"Tesla X Wallet,\" which use doctored or deepfake video of Musk claiming Tesla will \"double\" any Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, or Tether sent to listed wallet addresses, sometimes framed as part of a \"$100,000,000\" giveaway. Funds sent to these scammer-controlled addresses are reported to be immediately moved through decentralized exchanges, and victims who pay once are reportedly targeted again with requests for further \"deposits.\" These sources note that neither Tesla nor Elon Musk is affiliated with any such giveaway site or wallet address, and that blockchain transactions cannot be reversed once sent. This category of claim rests on security-vendor blog sources (Tier 2/3) rather than law-enforcement or regulatory confirmation, and should be treated with correspondingly moderate confidence.","heading":"Recurring Tesla / Elon Musk crypto giveaway scams","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla Crypto Giveaway Is A Scam – Elon Musk Is Not Doubling Crypto — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/tesla-giveaway-scam/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoMusk.io Crypto Scam – Another FAKE Tesla Giveaway — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/?p=310899"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Exposing the Tesla X Wallet Scam Promising to Double Crypto — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/tesla-x-wallet/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Elon Musk Crypto Giveaway Scam — PCrisk","type":"community_report","url":"https://pcrisk.com/removal-guides/29823-elon-musk-crypto-giveaway-scam"}]},{"content":"Beyond scam impersonations, U.S. regulators and market participants have raised structural concerns applicable to any TSLA-tracking token. On 9 July 2025, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that \"tokenized securities are still securities\" and remain subject to federal securities law, warning that custodial structures in which a third party wraps securities into tokens introduce additional counterparty risk. Citadel Securities, in a July 2025 letter to the SEC, warned that a rushed rollout of tokenized equities could drain liquidity from traditional markets and create 24/7 fractional trading that confuses investors. The World Federation of Exchanges and the advocacy group Better Markets separately warned that tokenized stocks can trade at prices diverging from the underlying security, often on unregulated crypto venues, and generally do not carry shareholder rights. Reporting indicates the SEC issued staff guidance in January 2026 distinguishing issuer-sponsored tokenized ownership from indirect/synthetic retail stock tokens, though this investigation did not locate the primary SEC text to confirm its exact wording.","heading":"Regulatory concerns about tokenized stocks generally","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"SEC's Peirce Warns Tokenized Stocks Remain Subject to Federal Securities Law — The Defiant","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/regulation/secs-peirce-warns-tokenized-stocks-remain-subject-to-federal-securities-law-acf49c3e"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenization benefits crypto industry at the expense of investors — Better Markets","type":"research","url":"https://bettermarkets.org/newsroom/tokenization-benefits-crypto-industry-at-expense-of-investors/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Global regulators crack down on tokenized stocks — Cointelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/global-regulators-crackdown-tokenized-stocks"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla, Inc. (Crypto.com Tokenized Stock)(TSLA) — DeFiLlama","type":"research","url":"https://defillama.com/rwa/asset/TSLAcryptocom"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla xStock(TSLAx) — DeFiLlama","type":"research","url":"https://defillama.com/rwa/asset/TSLAx"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenized Tesla Stock: Guide to Onchain Equities — Chainlink","type":"other","url":"https://chain.link/article/tokenized-tesla-stock-guide-to-onchain-equities"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla tokenized stock (xStock) (TSLAX) — Trust Wallet","type":"other","url":"https://trustwallet.com/price/tesla-tokenized-stock-xstock"},{"credibility":2,"name":"German regulators frown at Binance's stock tokens offering — Investing.com","type":"news_article","url":"https://investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/german-regulators-frown-at-binances-stock-tokens-offering-2490308"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance stops stock token sales, 'effective immediately' — Cointelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-stops-stock-token-sales-effective-immediately"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto exchange Binance halts operations of Tesla, Facebook, Google stock tokens — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/76126/crypto-exchange-binance-halts-operations-tesla-facebook-google-stock-tokens"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Binance Pulls Digital 'Stock Tokens' After Crackdown — Silicon UK","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/legal/binance-stock-tokens-407259/amp"},{"credibility":2,"name":"New turnkey kit makes it easy for anyone to become a scammer — Malwarebytes","type":"research","url":"https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/scams/2026/08/new-turnkey-kit-makes-it-easy-for-anyone-to-become-a-scammer"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ready-made $500 kit puts a crypto scam within anyone's reach — Help Net Security","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/12/crypto-scam-kit-cybercrime-forum/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Turnkey $500 Scam Kit Enables Fake $TSLA Token Presales to Drain Victim Wallets — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/kit-scam-tsla-presale-drains-crypto/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Fake $TSLA presale uses wallet screening to target victims for draining — Mitrade","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1990756-20260813"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tesla Crypto Giveaway Is A Scam – Elon Musk Is Not Doubling Crypto — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/tesla-giveaway-scam/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoMusk.io Crypto Scam – Another FAKE Tesla Giveaway — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/?p=310899"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Exposing the Tesla X Wallet Scam Promising to Double Crypto — MalwareTips","type":"community_report","url":"https://malwaretips.com/blogs/tesla-x-wallet/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Elon Musk Crypto Giveaway Scam — PCrisk","type":"community_report","url":"https://pcrisk.com/removal-guides/29823-elon-musk-crypto-giveaway-scam"},{"credibility":2,"name":"SEC's Peirce Warns Tokenized Stocks Remain Subject to Federal Securities Law — The Defiant","type":"news_article","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/regulation/secs-peirce-warns-tokenized-stocks-remain-subject-to-federal-securities-law-acf49c3e"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenization benefits crypto industry at the expense of investors — Better Markets","type":"research","url":"https://bettermarkets.org/newsroom/tokenization-benefits-crypto-industry-at-expense-of-investors/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Global regulators crack down on tokenized stocks — Cointelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/global-regulators-crackdown-tokenized-stocks"}],"summary":"\"TSLA\" in crypto markets refers to several unrelated products: regulated or semi-regulated tokenized-stock instruments issued by firms such as Backed Finance (xStock), Ondo Finance, Crypto.com/Foris Capital, and formerly Binance, which track the price of Tesla, Inc. shares without conferring direct share ownership; and a large, separate universe of impersonation scams that use the \"$TSLA token\" name and Tesla/Elon Musk branding to defraud victims. Tesla, Inc. itself has not issued any cryptocurrency or token, so any offering marketed as an official Tesla token or presale is fraudulent by definition, while legitimate tokenized-stock wrappers carry their own disclosed counterparty, custody, and regulatory risks.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-04","event":"Binance launches tokenized stock products, including a Tesla-tracking token, in partnership with Germany-licensed CM-Equity AG.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/76126/crypto-exchange-binance-halts-operations-tesla-facebook-google-stock-tokens"},{"date":"2021-04","event":"German regulator BaFin states it has 'reasonable grounds' to suspect Binance violated securities law by offering stock tokens without a prospectus.","source":"Investing.com","source_url":"https://investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/german-regulators-frown-at-binances-stock-tokens-offering-2490308"},{"date":"2021-07-16","date_evidence":"Binance stops stock token sales, 'effective immediately' — Cointelegraph headline and article dated July 16, 2021","event":"Binance announces it will stop offering stock tokens, including the TSLA token, effective immediately, citing a shift in commercial focus.","source":"Cointelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-stops-stock-token-sales-effective-immediately"},{"date":"2021-10","date_original":"2021-10-14","event":"Binance's support window for existing stock token holders to exit positions ends.","source":"Silicon UK","source_url":"https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/legal/binance-stock-tokens-407259/amp"},{"date":"2025-07","date_evidence":"She said on 9 July that blockchain-based versions of stocks, bonds or other assets remain subject to existing federal securities laws.","date_original":"2025-07-09","event":"SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce states that tokenized securities, including tokenized stocks, remain subject to federal securities law and flags counterparty risk in custodial wrapper structures.","source":"The Defiant","source_url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/regulation/secs-peirce-warns-tokenized-stocks-remain-subject-to-federal-securities-law-acf49c3e"},{"date":"2026","event":"Malwarebytes researchers identify a $500 turnkey cybercrime kit, sold by forum actor 'xrep', used to build fake '$TSLA token' presale websites that steal crypto via wallet-drain and direct-payment schemes.","source":"Malwarebytes","source_url":"https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/scams/2026/08/new-turnkey-kit-makes-it-easy-for-anyone-to-become-a-scammer"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision bee15fe1-0701-43a7-9fe9-9cac54bf990fcopy