Musk and Tesla had each paid $20 million civil fines, and Musk stepped down as Tesla’s chairman, to resolve SEC claims that Musk defrauded investors by tweeting on Aug. 7, 2018, that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private.
The available funds have since grown to about $41.2 million including interest, according to the SEC.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, declined to comment.
Musk is seeking to throw out his 2018 agreement with the SEC, which requires that a Tesla lawyer pre-approve his tweets if they could be material to investors. Read full story
The SEC opposes Musk’s request. It is also investigating Musk’s Nov. 6, 2021, tweet asking his followers whether he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla stake, to cover tax bills on stock options.
Musk has since sold more than 15 million Tesla shares worth about $16.4 billion.
