Elon Musk is not a Chief Executive Officer like the others.
Tesla’s (TSLA) boss atypical.
It refuses to abide by the rules that are often imposed on the directors of public companies.
The billionaire didn’t hesitate to start a new showdown with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite the 2018 deal with the regulator.
In September 2018, the two parties agreed to end the investigation into a tweet that Musk posted on August 7, 2019, that caused the price of Tesla shares to plummet.
“I’m considering buying Tesla privately for $420. Funded,” the billionaire wrote at the time.
Ongoing Tensions with the SEC
The tweet shook Tesla shares. The SEC filed a complaint against Musk.
On September 29, 2018, an agreement was reached and announced. Musk was supposed to step down as head of Tesla. Tesla and Musk agreed to pay a $40 million penalty. Tesla also agreed that the company’s lawyers pre-approved tweets containing important information about the company.
Last April, a New York federal judge said in a ruling to the billionaire that he would not end the deal, which required approval by a corporate lawyer if social media posts contained material information about Tesla.
Musk backed out, saying the previous deal hindered freedom of speech. He said the SEC used the deal to launch its “endless, unrestricted investigations” of public statements.
“None of the arguments are valid,” said Judge Lewis J. Liman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in a ruling.
Few CEOs take the risk of attacking the SEC like Musk did. These tensions also show that the billionaire values his uniqueness and proves it once again.
On October 2, Tesla shareholder Ross Gerber asked Musk on Twitter how investors should view Tesla, after the company presented the progress of the company’s humanoid robot Optimus on September 30. Musk’s response was harsh.
‘I Don’t Care About Increasing Stocks’
“Hey @elonmusk – I love to discuss the long-term global economic impact of Optimus and how investors should view Tesla’s progress. $tsla,” Gerber said on Twitter.
“I don’t care about increasing the stake,” the billionaire replied. “But the economic implications are obvious.”
Few CEOs would dare to make such a statement for fear of retaliation from their Board of Directors and sanctions from the markets. Not just Musk, who sees himself as an entrepreneur and not a visionary. He has made it his mission to transform civilization as it is today.
tech king exhibited A dancing Optimus pointing with one hand and bending his knees during Tesla AI Day on September 30. He promised mass production of his robot as soon as possible.
Optimus will cost less than $20,000.
“Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as soon as possible. We also designed the discipline we used in designing the car, namely designing it for production, so that it is possible to make the robot in high volume at low cost with high reliability,” said the billionaire.
Musk said that Optimus will herald an “abundance will come.” It will be “a future where there is no poverty, where people can get whatever they want in terms of products and services. As far as we know, this is truly a radical transformation of civilization.”
The robot remains a work in progress though.
Tesla will work on different use cases, including cooking and gardening. Musk wants to replace human labor with humanoid robots made from the artificial intelligence software Tesla uses for its cars.
