---
title: "Reports: Elon Musk Turned Down an SEC Settlement"
description: "## NO DEAL"
date: "2018-09-28"
modified: "2018-09-28"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-turned-down-sec-settlement"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "sec"
  - "settlement"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Reports: Elon Musk Turned Down an SEC Settlement

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Elon-Musk-Turned-Down-an-SEC-Settlement1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/billionaire-entrepreneur-and-founder-of-spacex-elon-musk-news-photo/855377302" target="\_blank"\>PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images\</a\>\</em\>*

## NO DEAL

Before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a [lawsuit against Elon Musk for alleged fraud](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-lawsuit-sec>) yesterday, the Tesla CEO reportedly turned down a settlement offer.

That's according to the *Wall Street Journal,* [which spoke to](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-sued-by-the-sec-for-securities-fraud-1538079650>) sources who said the settlement for an undisclosed amount was approved by the SEC's commissioners. But after Musk's lawyers turned it down Thursday, the sources said, the agency "rushed to pull together" the complaint they filed that afternoon.

## TWEET TROUBLES

Musk's troubles with the SEC stem from an [August 7 tweet](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1026872652290379776>) in which he said he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 per share — a corporate buyout the SEC says he had no way of financing.

Sources who [talked to *CNBC*](<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/teslas-musk-pulled-plug-on-settlement-with-sec-at-last-minute.html>) offered more details about the no-deal settlement, reporting that the enigmatic CEO "refused to sign the deal because he felt that by settling he would not be truthful to himself." In other words, Musk wouldn't take the settlement because that would imply that he did something wrong, and he doesn't think he did.

Musk had a way to avoid going to court, and he didn't take it. That means he's prepared to fight.

**READ MORE:** [SEC Sues Elon Musk for Fraud, Seeks Removal From Tesla](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-sued-by-the-sec-for-securities-fraud-1538079650>) \[*Wall Street Journal*\]

**More on the SEC investigation: [Ludicrous Mode: SEC Sues Elon Musk, Causing a Quick Drop in Tesla Stock](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-lawsuit-sec>)**

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)