Earlier this week, the U.S. government sued Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, for securities fraud. Now, it appears Musk has settled with the SEC, reports CNBC.
The charges were settled on Saturday and as part of the settlement, a $20 million fine was slapped each on Musk and Tesla. The CEO will also be forced to step down as chairman of the company’s board for three years, within 45 days. Tesla will also have to appoint two independent directors as well.
“The SEC also today charged Tesla with failing to have required disclosure controls and procedures relating to Musk’s tweets, a charge that Tesla has agreed to settle,” said the SEC in a statement.
“The settlements, which are subject to court approval, will result in comprehensive corporate governance and other reforms at Tesla—including Musk’s removal as Chairman of the Tesla board—and the payment by Musk and Tesla of financial penalties,” added the SEC.
Tesla shares dipped 14% on Friday down to $264 USD per share, as some investors decided to part ways with the stock. The settlement with the SEC means Tesla is now expected to “oversee” Musk’s communication with investors, in other words, tame Musk’s opinionated thoughts on Twitter.
And in other Tesla-related news…
Yesterday, Musk said he “will take action” on Twitter, in response to the Canadian Model 3 Owners club dealing with slow delivery times. He also proclaimed he loved Canada as well.
Bloomberg reports Tesla employees are being asked to beta test full Autopilot, in exchange for up to $13,000 in savings on Autopilot hardware:
Elon Musk has asked for Tesla Inc. employees to test what the company has billed as full self-driving capability and is dangling $13,000 in savings to entice them to help.
Musk wrote in an email obtained by Bloomberg News that Tesla needed about 100 more employees to join an internal testing program linked to rolling out the full self-driving capability. Any worker who buys a Tesla and agrees to share 300 to 400 hours of driving feedback with the company’s Autopilot team by the end of next year won’t have to pay for full self-driving — an $8,000 saving — or for a premium interior, which normally costs $5,000, Musk wrote.
The Tesla email went on to say “This is being offered on a first come, first served basis,” and “Given the excitement around this, I expect it will probably be fully subscribed by noon or 1pm tomorrow.”
