SEC commissioner isn't exactly pleased with settlement over Elon Musk tweets
Friday's settlement means Musk avoids a contempt charge, but he's still under plenty of scrutiny.
Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange Commission may have finally quashed their beef, with Musk avoiding a contempt charge, but that doesn't mean every SEC commissioner is on board with the final deal.
Musk and the SEC reached an agreement Friday over what public statements require legal oversight before posting. Yet, a statement from SEC commissioner Robert Jackson shows that there is some dissent within the group's ranks.
"Given Mr. Musk's conduct, I cannot support a settlement in which he does not admit what is crystal clear to anyone who has followed this bizarre series of events: Mr. Musk breached the agreement he made last year with the Commission -- and with American investors," Jackson said Tuesday in a statement.
The settlement, which was publicized shortly after both parties asked a federal judge for an extension in negotiations, added clearer and more enforceable language regarding what Musk can and can't tweet without requiring the green light from a securities lawyer. The agreement, which can be read in full below, forbids Musk from oversight-free public comments (read: tweets) about production or delivery numbers, comments on the company's financial health, new lines of business unrelated to current lines of business and more.
Musk first ended up in hot water with the SEC after his infamous "funding secured" tweet, in which he claimed Tesla had secured the dough to go private at $420 per share. That never happened, and the SEC eventually filed a lawsuit against Musk, alleging securities fraud. That happened late in 2018, but Musk again found himself in the SEC's crosshairs in early 2019, after the SEC alleged a couple tweets about production numbers were enough for a contempt charge. Last week's settlement means Musk has avoided the charge, but that doesn't mean the SEC won't keep a watchful eye on his Twitter account for a long time to come.
