*By Carlo Versano*
Shares of Tesla jumped more than 15 percent in the pre-market Monday on news that CEO Elon Musk settled a lawsuit with the SEC over Musk's social media use.
Under the terms of the settlement, Musk will step down as chairman of Tesla ($TSLA) for at least three years but can remain in the chief executive role. He and the company must each pay $20 million in fines. Two independent board members will also be appointed.
Federal regulators sued Musk last week, arguing that his infamous Aug. 7 "funding secured" tweet amounted to securities fraud. The lawsuit was filed after Musk reportedly scuttled a last-minute deal with the agency under which he would resign as chairman and pay a fine but not admit to any wrongdoing. Talks restarted soon after, and by Saturday a new settlement was in place.
The settlement takes care of one major headache for investors, who will now look to the car maker's third-quarter production and delivery numbers, which may be reported as early as Monday. Musk [reportedly] (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/30/elon-musk-tells-tesla-to-ignore-distractions-hints-at-profitability.html) emailed employees over the weekend, telling them to "ignore all distractions" and that the company was approaching profitability.
Although Tesla may be offering discounts, GM President Mark Reuss said the company is holding firm on its EV pricing after announcing the 2024 Corvette E-Ray on Tuesday, the 70th anniversary of the first Corvette.
Microsoft said it's expanding access to OpenAI following reports of talks for a major investment by the tech giant in the startup parent company of ChatGPT.
Long before beleaguered billionaire Elon Musk purchased Twitter in October, he had set his sights on Tesla, the electric automaker where he serves as CEO and from which he derives most of his wealth and fame.
Janet Balis, EY Marketing Practice Leader, and Charisse Hughes, Chief Brand and Advanced Analytics Officer, Kellogg’s, join Cheddar News at CES in Las Vegas to discuss the importance of investing in your brand in the face of recession fears, the biggest challenges that CMOs are facing today, and where opportunity can be found in the adversity.
