Tesla Inc.'s settlement with U.S. regulators will help soothe investors calling for more oversight of Chief Executive Elon Musk, experts said, even as it gives ammunition to short-sellers pursuing separate cases and to a probe by the Justice Department.
Musk and Tesla will pay $20 million each, bring in two independent directors and have the billionaire step down as board chairman to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that Musk misled investors by tweeting he had financing for a go-private deal.
That settlement must still be approved by a court, and does not end the Justice Department probe disclosed by Tesla into Musk's tweets or lawsuits by short-sellers and other investors alleging losses and securities law violations.