*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.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence concluded its hearing on the massive SolarWinds hack.
Facebook says it will lift a ban on Australians viewing and sharing news on its platform after it struck a deal with the government on proposed legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism.
Advertising analytics company DoubleVerify found in a report that there was a 21 percent increase in "inflammatory news and political content" on websites following January 6.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) discussed the need for stronger cybersecurity measures for the U.S. prior to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the SolarWinds data breaches in 2020.
A bone cancer survivor who's now a physician assistant will join a billionaire on SpaceX's first private spaceflight this fall.
Owlet Baby Care has announced its merger with Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company.
Boeing has recommended that airlines ground all 777s with the type of engine that blew apart after takeoff from Denver this weekend, and most carriers that fly those planes said they would temporarily pull them from service.
500K Covid Deaths, Texas Utility Bills & Arctic Milestone
The surge in pricing is hitting people who have chosen to pay wholesale prices for their power, which is typically cheaper than paying fixed rates during good weather, but can spike when there’s high demand for electricity.
Democrats who were involved in the questioning during the House Financial Services Committee hearing on the GameStop stock controversy spoke to Cheddar about what they felt they learned.
