Musk reaches settlement with US authorities, will resign as Tesla board chairman

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, under which he will pay a fine of $20 million and resign as Tesla board chairman, the CNBC TV channel reported on Saturday.

According to the report, Musk will retain his post as Tesla CEO, but will have to step down as Tesla board chairman within 45 days, for a period of no less than three years. Besides, Tesla and Musk will have to pay the fine of $20 million each, and two independent directors will be appointed to the company’s board.

This settlement agreement is yet to receive judicial approval.

New York Times, in its turn, reported that the commission had proposed an out-of-court settlement to Musk before, but he refused. The terms of the current deal are less favorable for the US businessman than those suggested earlier, the paper said.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Musk after he tweeted on August 7, 2018 that he could take Tesla private at $420 per share a substantial premium to its trading price at the time that funding for the transaction had been secured, and that the only remaining uncertainty was a shareholder vote. As a result, Tesla shares grew by more than 6%

"The SEC’s complaint alleged that, in truth, Musk knew that the potential transaction was uncertain and subject to numerous contingencies," the SEC said in a statement. "Musk had not discussed specific deal terms, including price, with any potential financing partners, and his statements about the possible transaction lacked an adequate basis in fact."

The businessman said in late August that he had dropped the plans of buying Tesla shares, but the charges against him were not lifted.

Tesla shares traded down almost 12% in early Friday trading of the New York Stock Exchange.