Tweet that led to $ 20 m fine ‘worth it’: Tesla’s Elon Musk

Wednesday, 31 October 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk said the tweet that cost him and the company $ 20 million in fines each by the US Securities and Exchange Commission was “worth it”.

The tweet, sent late Friday evening less than an hour before Musk tweeted that he would take a break from Twitter “for a few days,” was in response to a question from a Twitter follower.

The SEC in September charged Musk, 47, with misleading investors with tweets on 7 August that said he was considering taking Tesla private at $ 420 a share and had secured funding. The tweets had no basis in fact, and the ensuing market chaos hurt investors, regulators claimed.

Tesla Inc. and Elon Musk have agreed to pay $ 20 million each to financial regulators and the billionaire will step down as the company’s Chairman but remain as Chief Executive, under a settlement.

Under the settlement agreement, Tesla needs to appoint an independent Chairman by 13 November.