*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.
Netflix is testing out a way to charge users who share their passwords with friends and family, and while it's not being introduced in the U.S. yet, it might one day. The streaming giant is under pressure to grow membership numbers after lackluster fourth-quarter guidance, and anticipated pressures as people return to work and face higher costs elsewhere, thanks to rising inflation. Will Netflix see increased customer cancellations if it implements a price hike for password sharing? Is the company only focusing on the investor, and not the subscriber? Seth Schachner, Managing Director at StratAmericas and Digital Business Executive, joins Closing Bell to discuss Netflix's plans to charge for password sharing, why the company is doing so, how it might hurt subscriber numbers and more.
Simeon Hyman, Chief Investment Strategist at ProShares, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why his firm launched the Proshares Metaverse ETF today and how this portfolio offers the opportunity for success both now and in the future.
Medical cannabis company Akanda went public this week in what was the first traditional IPO of the month. Shares jumped about 163% in the stock's first day of trading. The London-based company says it hopes to supply medical cannabis products to wholesalers in international markets. Tej Virk, CEO of Akanda, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Software company Akeneo CEO Fred De Gombert joined Closing Bell to discuss its recently closed Series D funding round raising $135 million in its quest to redefine product information management. De Gombert said the company is set out to improve the product information category by harnessing the power of data, which comes at a time where customer behavior has shifted in the pandemic era. "We are more and more demanding as consumers when we are shopping online or even offline. We are looking for more and more information," De Gombert said.
Bioscience and genetic engineering company, Colossal, raised $60 million in a Series A funding round. Colossal is focused on developing new technologies and genetic tools to restore extinct species, and protect critically endangered species. One of the startup's long-term goals is to resurrect the woolly mammoth, and return it back to the arctic. Colossal also says it is developing technology that expands beyond animals, and has the potential to advance human health. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Nate Morris, Chairman and CEO of Rubicon, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how the company is creating a digital marketplace for waste and recycling, and how technology and sustainability will go hand in hand in the future.
Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Hollywood studio MGM, two days after European regulators said the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” in European markets.
James Coddington, CEO of SkillsVR, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how virtual reality is being used to train frontline workers to deal with difficult customers, and how this technology is being applied to diversity training.
