*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.
Apple has revealed that the tech giant is working more on going green, reporting the use of more recycled materials than ever before. It's setting sustainability goals, aiming to cut emissions by 75 percent in the next 10 years and eventually ending the use of plastic in packaging.
Chipotle is investing $50 million into a venture capital fund to aid tech startups that focus on operations. Chief Technology Officer Curt Garner joined Cheddar News to talk about how the fast-casual chain is innovating its brand strategy with the fund. "We look for technologies that elevate the human experience, and that human experience can occur with our customers as they come into our restaurants and very importantly our employees as well," he said.
The telecom giant AT&T is looking to make online learning more fun for students by engaging them with content from its partners at Warner Bros. Discovery. Mylayna Albright, the assistant vice president of corporate social responsibility for AT&T, joined Cheddar to discuss how the company came about with the free digital e-learning program that it's calling The Achievery. "We knew that once students went home as a result of the pandemic, it was very difficult for them, and we knew from research, specifically through Morning Consult, that parents and teachers realized that probably 80 percent of students felt that they would be more engaged if they had a more entertaining approach," she said.
