The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a judge to hold Elon Musk in contempt for violating his Oct. 16 settlement with the agency
Bloomberg News reported the news a bit ago. We’ve since obtained the agency’s complaint, though it is declining comment.
Tesla has yet to respond to our requests for more information.
At the crux of things: Last Tuesday night, Musk tweeted out that Tesla would make around 500,000 cars this year, correcting himself hours later to clarify that he meant the company would be producing at an annualized rate of 500,000 vehicles by year end.
The next morning, Tesla announced that its general counsel, Dane Butswinkas, is leaving.
Butswinkas had battled on Musk’s behalf with the SEC last year, after Musk tweeted in August that he had “funding secured” to take the company private. In the end, Musk and Tesla settled without admitting wrongdoing. Still, Tesla had to pay a $20 million fine; Musk had to agree to step down as Tesla chairman for a period of at least three years; the company had to appoint two independent directors to the board; and Tesla was also told to put in place a way to monitor Musk’s statements to the public about the company, including via Twitter.
It’s this last part that’s the sticking point.