Elon Musk, SEC now agree on Tesla CEO's Twitter usage
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reached an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday on the use of Twitter, according to a filing in the Manhattan Federal Court.
Later Friday agreement set new parameters for what Musk can not revert to on social media without prior approval from a securities lawyer. The list is long, but contains a number of topics on Tesla's business, including finance, earnings and guidance; potential mergers or acquisitions; production number or sale; forecasts or estimate numbers; or new or proposed business areas without connection to existing business areas.
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Musk and SEC's latest feud began in mid-February after federal regulators accused him of violating an earlier settlement when he tweeted about Tesla's 201[ads1]9 production goal. The SEC claimed that the tweet did not receive the necessary pre-approvals mandated in the previous settlement – a result of which Musk suddenly discussed last year that he considered taking Tesla private at $ 420 per share.
Regulators claimed that he had deliberately wished willing investors. Musk paid a $ 20 million fine to settle the case and agreed to have his social media interactions monitored by Tesla lawyers. He was also removed as head of Tesla's board for at least three years.
The new deal is a victory for Musk, which was likely to be subjected to major fines as a result of the allegations. Elliot Lutzker, former SEC prosecutor, told former FOX Business that regulators could beat Musk with a fine higher than the previous $ 20 million – and perhaps even ask him to set aside as CEO for up to two months.
Tesla refused to comment on the latest developments. [19659000]]
US District Judge Alison Nathan must still approve the agreement for it to replace the previous one. Nathan previously gave Musk and SEC two weeks to prepare a deal for a federal court appearance.
"The current tweet was true, regardless of shareholders and in no way a breach of my agreement with the SEC," Musk said at that time. "We have always felt that we should be able to work through disagreements directly with the SEC, rather than prematurely hurrying to court."
