According to a report, Elon Musk has resigned as the chairman of Tesla. Along with leaving, Musk has to pay a $20 million fine for a tweet he fired off saying he planned on a massive buyout of Tesla.
Musk allegedly tweeted “considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Later on, the SEC ruled that Musk never went through with his declaration and deal between the company and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund set to foot the bill on the buyout. The SEC went on to hit Musk with fraud charges for reportedly making “false and misleading” statements.
To make matters even more strange, Elon’s “420” number was an inside joke between himself and his girlfriend – Canadian singer Grimes.
“While leading Tesla’s investors to believe he had a firm offer in hand, we allege that Musk had arrived at the price of $420 by assuming 20% premium over Tesla’s then existing share price then rounding up to $420 because of the significance of that number in marijuana culture and his belief that his girlfriend would be amused by it,” says Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC’s enforcement division
Musk has agreed to pay out the $20 million fine. Tesla was hit with a $20 million fine of their own.
Source: Gizmodo
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.