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> They had passed on Thursday’s generous offer, and the S.E.C. felt compelled to extract greater concessions. The ban on Mr. Musk’s serving as chairman went fro

by gok 8y ago

> They had passed on Thursday’s generous offer, and the S.E.C. felt compelled to extract greater concessions. The ban on Mr. Musk’s serving as chairman went from two years to three, and his fine doubled to $20 million. Tesla will also pay a $20 million fine, and Mr. Musk agreed to personally buy the same amount in Tesla stock. The extra year of not being chairman seems immaterial if threatening to quit got the board to shoot themselves in the foot, so he basically paid ~$10 million to loudly proclaim his innocence for 48 hours?

kirillzubovsky 8y ago
No, under the settlement he gets to claim perpetual innocence (ie. no intention of doing $420 on purpose). For him 10m is spare change, so long as it means he gets to maintain integrity. Also, as reported in another article, this non-admission of guilt makes it much harder for the DOJ to go after him with a criminal case.
- village-idiot 8y ago
  $10m cash is absolutely not spare change for someone as leveraged as him, ditto for Tesla.
- vilhelm_s 8y ago
  According to the article, the settlement does not let him proclaim innocence (but it doesn't require him to admit guilt). As I read the article, this part was the unchanged between the SEC's first offer and the eventual settlement.
  - desdiv 8y ago
    Exactly. The original deal was: 1. No admission of guilt 2. Bar from chairmanship for 2 years 3. $10 million fine for Musk and $10 million fine for Tesla The final deal was: 1. No admission of guilt 2. Bar from chairmanship for 3 years 3. $20 million fine for Musk and $20 million fine for Tesla So the 48 hour delay brought Musk nothing in return. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/29/17918252/elon-musk-tesla-sec-securities-fraud-lawsuit-settlement-fine-penalty https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/29/17918252/elon-musk-tesla-... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/business/elon-musk-tesla-sec-deal.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/business/elon-musk-tesla-...
    - Asparagirl 8y ago
      Importantly, both deals also require adding two new independent directors to the Tesla board. Who will, one presumes, get to see the company’s books, and then vote on what to do about those numbers.
- deleted 8y ago
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by gok 8y ago

kirillzubovsky 8y ago

No, under the settlement he gets to claim perpetual innocence (ie. no intention of doing $420 on purpose). For him 10m is spare change, so long as it means he gets to maintain integrity. Also, as reported in another article, this non-admission of guilt makes it much harder for the DOJ to go after him with a criminal case.

village-idiot 8y ago
$10m cash is absolutely not spare change for someone as leveraged as him, ditto for Tesla.
vilhelm_s 8y ago
According to the article, the settlement does not let him proclaim innocence (but it doesn't require him to admit guilt). As I read the article, this part was the unchanged between the SEC's first offer and the eventual settlement.
- desdiv 8y ago
  Exactly. The original deal was: 1. No admission of guilt 2. Bar from chairmanship for 2 years 3. $10 million fine for Musk and $10 million fine for Tesla The final deal was: 1. No admission of guilt 2. Bar from chairmanship for 3 years 3. $20 million fine for Musk and $20 million fine for Tesla So the 48 hour delay brought Musk nothing in return. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/29/17918252/elon-musk-tesla-sec-securities-fraud-lawsuit-settlement-fine-penalty https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/29/17918252/elon-musk-tesla-... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/business/elon-musk-tesla-sec-deal.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/business/elon-musk-tesla-...
  - Asparagirl 8y ago
    Importantly, both deals also require adding two new independent directors to the Tesla board. Who will, one presumes, get to see the company’s books, and then vote on what to do about those numbers.
deleted 8y ago
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