SEC settlement sends Tesla stock soaring

Enlarge / Tesla’s stock plunged in after-hours trading on Thursday, then soared after Saturday’s settlement. (credit: Barchart.com)

Tesla’s stock is up by more than 16 percent in early Monday trading after Elon Musk signed a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the weekend. Monday’s gains erased Friday’s 14-percent plunge after the SEC filed its lawsuit late on Thursday.

Musk’s dispute with the SEC arose from an August 7 tweet in which Musk claimed to have “funding secured” to take the company private at $420 per share. But it quickly became clear that Musk’s funding commitment—supposedly from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund—was informal at best. The SEC eventually sued Musk for securities fraud on Thursday. Musk initially vowed to fight the charges, but after Tesla’s stock cratered on Friday, Musk backtracked and settled the case on Saturday.

While Musk technically capitulated to the SEC over the weekend, he signaled Monday morning that he has no intention of behaving himself in the future: