Elon Musk to step down as Tesla chairman in SEC settlementBy Richard Waters in San Francisco
Elon Musk has bowed to pressure from US regulators to step down from the chairmanship of Tesla, heading off a legal threat that could have seen him forced out of the electric carmaker completely.
The capitulation came two days after the Tesla chief executive set up a dramatic confrontation with the Securities and Exchange Commission by rejecting a settlement of fraud charges against him. The charges were prompted by Mr Musk’s series of tweets last month claiming he was close to a $70bn buyout.