U.S. Judge Approves Musk-SEC Settlement

A federal judge in New York City has approved a $40 million settlement between Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the SEC last month that claimed Musk misled investors with an Aug. 7 tweet declaring that he had secured funding to privatize the company.

The decision was expected, even though Musk muddied the process by mocking the SEC in a chain of tweets a few days after reaching a tentative deal.

Under terms of the deal, Musk must step down as Tesla’s chairman for three years and submit to a board committee to monitor his often impulsive tweets. He and Tesla also each will pay $20 million fines that will be distributed to harmed shareholders.