*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.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp, a blank check company targeting consumer and retail companies, has officially hit Wall Street. The company listed its $200 million IPO on the NASDAQ, trading under the ticker symbol 'VMGAU.' Aarti Kapoor, CEO of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss.
Goldman Sachs is getting into the holiday giving spirit with its sixth annual Analyst Impact Fund competition. The Shark-Tank style contest gives Junior Analysts the chance to pitch a charity of their choice to senior leadership, with the winner being granted $250,000 to donate to their chosen non-profit. The team representing Lime Connect, the world's largest network of people with disabilities, has taken home this year's top prize. For more on this, Jim Esposito, Goldman Sachs Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division, and Julian Sanchez, one of this year's winners, joined Cheddar Movers.
Sprinklr CEO Ragy Thomas joined Wake Up With Cheddar's Baker Machado to discuss the customer experience company's latest earnings report and forecasts for future growth.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
