Elon Musk and US stock market regulators told a US court on Friday that they have reached a deal to settle their differences over the Tesla chief executive’s Twitter use.
The settlement between Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission sets out clearer guidelines on topics Musk should avoid on Twitter or other social media, including statements about acquisitions, mergers, new products and production numbers.
Musk would have to adhere to Tesla rules regarding potentially significant comments by executives, and have tweets or other social media posts pre-approved by “an experienced securities lawyer employed by the company,” according to the proposed settlement.
“The parties have reached an agreement to resolve the commission’s pending contempt motion,” a joint court filing said.
A Friday deadline set by US District Judge Alison Nathan was extended until April 30 after Musk and the SEC asked for time to have a final version of the settlement ready to submit for court approval.
The SEC said in the filing that the settlement “is fair, reasonable, and in the interest of the parties and investors because the proposed revisions will provide additional clarity regarding the written communications for which the defendant is required to obtain pre-approval.”
SEC officials had originally argued Musk should be held in contempt of court for allegedly violating an earlier settlement on tweeting potentially market-sensitive information without having it reviewed by counsel.
If approved, the settlement would mark a truce in Musk’s dispute with the SEC after an October agreement required him to step down as chairman and pay $20 million to settle charges he defrauded investors with false claims on Twitter in August about a possible bid to take the company private, which was quickly aborted.
The settlement, which allowed Musk to remain as CEO, required him to obtain pre-approval from Tesla counsel before making written communications “that contain, or reasonably could contain, information material to Tesla or its stockholders.”
The SEC cracked down after Musk tweeted on February 19 that Tesla would make 500,000 cars in 2019 – up from the 400,000 that the company had estimated until then, an apparent increase on a benchmark tied to profitability.
Musk corrected himself four hours later, saying that Tesla would indeed produce about 400,000 cars this year.
