How much influence does Elon Musk have over the U.S. government? Enough that Tesla TSLA -0.65%decrease; red down pointing triangle will need to make a judgment call on a disclosure issue that once would have been unthinkable for an American private-sector company to contemplate.

Here is the question at hand: Are Tesla and the government “related parties” for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles? The answer would appear to be yes, as wild as that might seem.

https://www.wsj.com/finance/elon-musks-doge-adventure-leads-to-knotty-accounting-question-for-tesla-d33a784e

https://www.wsj.com/finance/elon-musks-doge-adventure-leads-to-knotty-accounting-question-for-tesla-d33a784e