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0 pointsdragontamer7y ago0 comments

> I totally agree with this. Take the recent Tesla fiasco. Do you think a $20M fine means a damn thing to Musk? That's like $0.01 for most people.

Elon Musk was forcibly removed as Tesla's chairman. That was the real punishment. Furthermore, Elon Musk agreed that two new board members would be selected by the SEC. Finally, Tesla promised that they'd watch Elon Musk's twitter account better.

The $20 Million was a slap on the wrist. The "real" punishment from the SEC were those new restrictions, which should clamp down on Musk's behavior.

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No one wants to see Tesla or Elon go bankrupt. The SEC just wants Elon to be more factual in his tweets. Neither jail nor fines help anybody.

IMO, the SEC should have threatened Elon Musk's CEO position a bit more (I mean... they could push him out of any officer position in publicly traded companies), but there's a strong argument that Tesla wouldn't survive if Elon were forced out.

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5 comments · 2 top-level

sokoloff7y ago· 3 in thread

After his “Naughty by Nature” and “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” tweets, do you believe that his twitter behavior has been curbed effectively?

I guess, neither of those are blatant securities fraud or libel against a person, so maybe it has, but...

techntoke7y ago

Right! He settles for twenty (420) million and then goes on to mock the agency he settled with afterwards. People also seem to quickly overlook this and his other bizarre tweets:

https://people.com/music/elon-musk-responds-azealia-banks-al...

Not sure where all the fan-love for Musk comes from, but him and Kanye would do well together because of it.

dragontamerOP7y ago

> After his “Naughty by Nature” and “Shortseller Enrichment Commission” tweets, do you believe that his twitter behavior has been curbed effectively?

Obviously not yet. But if Tesla fails to curb Elon Musk, I'd expect the SEC to continue to clamp down.

Remember: Tesla's settlement was to agree to clamping down on Musk's tweets. If Tesla violates that, then SEC can bring down the hammer again.

rrcaptain7y ago

So how many chances are we going to give billionaires? Three? Four? One hundred? Most people get one mistake.

nickpsecurity7y ago

"Elon Musk was forcibly removed as Tesla's chairman. That was the real punishment. "

Supporting parent comments, it really wasn't. Poor people often get fines that wipe out most of their money, sometimes cost them jobs, and/or get jail time for low-value crimes. People like Musk get a fine that's a tiny percentage of they and their companies' worth with usually no jail time. I've always been in favor of jailing executives and/or board members for their part in crimes. Even if it's "make the numbers go up or else without giving me details." Oh no, we already know that's how most dodge responsibility. I think companies that do way better on talking to employees and accountability already show it could be done better. And then there's stuff like Undercover Boss showing a lot of problems can be spotted with one, undercover visit. Not even necessarily by CEO.

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