Tesla, Elon Musk and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reached an agreement Friday that will give the CEO freedom to use Twitter —within certain limitations — without fear of being held in contempt for violating an earlier court order.
Musk can tweet as he wishes except when it’s about certain events or financial milestones. In those cases, Musk must seek pre-approval from a securities lawyer, according to the agreement filed with Manhattan federal court.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, the presiding judge on this matter, must still approve the deal. Musk must seek pre-approval if his tweets include:- any information about the company’s financial condition or guidance, potential or proposed mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures,
- production numbers or sales or delivery number (actual, forecasted, or projected),
- new or proposed business lines that are unrelated to then-existing business lines (presently includes vehicles, transportation, and sustainable energy products);
- projection, forecast, or estimate numbers regarding Tesla’s business that have not been previously published in official company guidance
- events regarding the company’s securities (including Musk’s acquisition or disposition of shares)
- nonpublic legal or regulatory findings or decisions;
- any event requiring the filing of a Form 8-K such as a change in control or a change in the company’s directors; any principal executive officer, president, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, principal operating officer, or any person performing similar functions