Tesla shares surge in premarket trading after Musk steps down as chairman

Tesla shares soared in pre-market trading on Monday in an early indicator of Wall Street’s reaction to Elon Musk’s resignation as chairman. 

Shares were up by 15 per cent by 7am to $307.38, their highest since Musk walked away from a deal with the SEC to settle their fraud case against him on September 28. 

On Saturday, he finally settled with the commission by paying a $20million fine and agreeing to step down from chairman. 

He had been sued tweeting on August 7 that he planned to take the company private for $420 a share after securing funding. 

The SEC found that he had no founding and had misled investors with the tweet. 

Tesla’s share price soared in pre-market trading on Monday as the market geared up to respond to Elon Musk’s deal with the SEC which was reached on Saturday after months of scandal 

Musk, pictured on September 17, will remain Tesla's CEO but must step down as chairman for three years and pay a $20million fine 

Musk, pictured on September 17, will remain Tesla’s CEO but must step down as chairman for three years and pay a $20million fine 

On Monday morning, as stocks recovered from the scandal, he returned to social media with a bizarre tweet. 

It read: ‘Naughty by nature’, followed by a winking emoji and a link to the hip hop band Naughty by Nature’s 1991 song OPP which stands for other people’s property.

Over the weekend, he avoided any talk of the deal or SEC deal and responded to user complaints about the wait time for Tesla products. 

Saturday’s settlement brings an end to the months-long issue which has placed Musk’s personal life under increased scrutiny. 

It included speculation that the tweet was a joking reference to marijuana and was intended to impress a girlfriend. 

The figure 420 is synonymous with the drug because of April 20th, a day selected by cannabis smokers to celebrate the habit all over the country.  

Musk came under fire for smoking marijuana during an unhinged radio interview on September 7 which sent shares plummeting to $263.24, a six month low.   

It also coincided with the departure of Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton who quit days earlier, complaining in an SEC filing that he was not being listened to by the board or Musk.

The business mogul celebrated  putting his woes with the SEC to bed in the early hours of the morning with this bizarre tweet which included a link to the song OPP which stands for Other People's Property 

The business mogul celebrated  putting his woes with the SEC to bed in the early hours of the morning with this bizarre tweet which included a link to the song OPP which stands for Other People’s Property 

A confusing, rumor-fueled feud with rapper Azealia Banks also brought into question his leadership abilities. 

On Friday, with the company’s future uncertain after Musk walked away from a deal, shares had plunged 13.9 percent to close at $264.77 a share.

The SEC offered him a similar deal to the one he accepted on Saturday earlier in the week but he walked away from it because, it was claimed by sources close to the matter, it would have restricted him from stating publicly that he did nothing wrong.  

Musk sparked the SEC investigation on August 7 by tweeting that he was taking Tesla private at $420 a share 

Musk sparked the SEC investigation on August 7 by tweeting that he was taking Tesla private at $420 a share 

It was cheaper – fining him $10million and requiring that he step down as chairman for two years.  

Under the settlement announced Saturday, Musk is giving up the chairman’s role for three years but gets to remain as CEO. The complaint had sought his removal as chief executive as well.  

The deal will also put two new, independent members on the board. 

Legal experts and many investors believe that could provide more oversight, an important move for a company of Tesla’s size.

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