Elon Musk to Resign as Tesla Chairman and Pay $20 Million Fine Over Lame Weed Jokes
The billionaire was allegedly trying to impress his girlfriend, Grimes.
Elon Musk likes his weed. Who has a problem with that? Recreational cannabis is legal in California, he’s floating on oceans of money—anyone with a taste for it would probably be buying the green by the bushel.
It’s not news that his yen for it got him in trouble after tweeted the following lame-ass 420-themed joke. On Saturday he learned how much his joke cost.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
That dumbass crack, supposedly tweeted for his (then?) girlfriend Grimes‘ amusement, cost a lot of money. Maybe not billions—at least not yet—but Ars Technica reports that thanks to pissed-off investors it certainly cost enough. Money is coming out of Musk’s and Tesla’s pockets and some humbling changes in his position with the company:
Musk and Tesla have each agreed to pay $20 million in penalties, which will distributed to those investors that were harmed. “At the Commission, the interests of ordinary investors are at the front of our minds and, in matters involving misconduct, we seek to serve those interests to the extent practicable while also ensuring that we remediate and deter misconduct,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton in a separate statement released at the same time as news of the settlement.
On top of the combined $40 million in penalties, Tesla will have to increase the independence of its board, adding two new directors not linked to Musk. It will also have to rein in his use of social media, adding “controls and procedures to oversee Musk’s communications.”
Ouch. Kicked off the top spot and he has babysitters to boot.
This won’t actually hurt Musk’s bank account and he’s still a part of the company, acting as CEO. It may curb his recent tendency towards public wilding out, removing him from the top spot as everyone’s favorite dope-smoking billionaire.
Not to be unkind to Musk or Tesla, but the SEC could have fined them $420 million just to be sarcastic.
No one knows how to have fun anymore.
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