*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.
Buy now, pay later — or point-of-sales loans — might be making it difficult to get a handle on your credit. These companies typically do not report payment history during transactions, so without this data going to credit scoring companies, it makes it difficult to know how many loans a customer still needs to pay. Experts are recommend paying off these debts as soon as possible.
As manufacturing and shipping continue to face staffing challenges, robotic replacements are increasingly on their way to plug the gaps. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a deeper look at the latest trend.
Tiffany Johnson, CEO of Built for Launch, joins ChedHER to discuss the Black Founders Ecom Pledge that provides tools and resources for Black founders to build, launch, and scale a successful e-commerce business.
Tech-enabled residential hospitality company Mint House recently raised $35 million in a Series B round led by Mohari Hospitality. Mint House was described by one of its backers as 'the best of a hotel without the worst of a hotel, and the best of an Airbnb without the worst of an Airbnb.' Mint House offers apartment-style lodging across the country. The company claims its spaces combine the comfort of a home with the luxury of a hotel in order to give guests all of the perks and none of the tradeoffs. Will Lucas, Founder and CEO of Mint House, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Social media platforms walk a fine line when it comes to free speech, especially when posts lead to real-life negative consequences. Texas lawmakers are trying to enforce a law that would prohibit platforms from taking any action when it comes to malicious or violent posts, and they insist it does not violate the First Amendment. But the Supreme Court thinks otherwise, at least for now. Matt Schruers, President of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, joins Closing Bell to discuss what threat the Texas law poses to social platforms, why his organization sued over the law, what it could mean for users, and more.
