The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have arrived at a new agreement in court that finalised and clarified the list of requirements for Musk's posts on his Twitter account. The renowned CEO now has to pre-approve his tweets that touch upon certain topics with the company's lawyer.
Namely, if Musk decides to post a tweet on the company's financial situation, changes in its status or shareholding structure, production rates, or possible future developments of the company, he will first have to check with the lawyer, as otherwise he could face penalties. Previously, the CEO had ignored similar demands by the SEC, which were imposed in October 2018, having posted a tweet in February regarding the company's planned production rates in 2019.
The original demands were imposed after Musk tweeted about his plans to make Tesla private "for $420", which was significantly higher than a share's market price at the time. The tweet triggered a rapid rise in the company's share prices, but the intent and claim that funding for this had been "secured" turned out to be false.
The SEC launched an investigation into Musk's actions, accusing him of causing "market chaos" and harming Tesla's investors. Musk was forced to pay a hefty $20 million fine and abandon his post as chairman of the company's board, but kept his position as CEO.
The court's ruling came in the wake of Musk recently turning his Twitter account into "pretty much complete nonsense" with a series of bizarre tweets — some of which were written in Russian. In one of his posts, Musk suggested creating a "quiet, electric leaf blower" and was soon approached by the adult content website Pornhub suggesting collaborating to create a "dual purpose electric blower", further adding to the sense of madness taking place on Musk's page on the social media platform.