SEC 与马斯克的和解公告和主席声明 (全文）

SEC 关于马斯克案的和解公告和主席声明(全文）

史上最快速和解的诉讼案

史上最贵的一条推文

4000万美元不见了

董事长的宝座也丢了

赴美上市的注意了

SEC 于上周发布通告正式起诉特斯拉公司董事长和CEO 马斯克；

SEC 正式起诉特斯拉创始人马斯克（附诉状）

就在SEC 发布起诉通告之后， CNBC 报道称 马斯克拒绝和SEC和解，决定将官司打到底；从SEC历史案例看，在法庭上SEC败诉居多；CNBC消息：特斯拉和美国证券交易委员会（Securities and Exchange Commission）周四达成无罪和解协议，美国全国广播公司（CNBC）的安德鲁·罗斯·索尔金（Andrew Ross Sorkin）周五援引消息人士的说法称。但是，这些人说马斯克在最后一刻退出了协议。

根据协议条款，马斯克和特斯拉将不得不支付名义上的罚款，而他也不必承认任何罪行。然而，CNBC的David Faber援引消息人士的话称，这项和解协议将禁止马斯克担任主席两年，并要求特斯拉任命两名新的独立董事。

据报道，马斯克拒绝签署该协议，因为他认为，通过和解，他不会对自己说真话，而且他也不可能接受他同意接受和解协议的想法以及与此相关的任何瑕疵，消息人士说。

然而， 就在刚刚，也就是美东时间周六

最新消息：特斯拉 CEO、创始人伊隆·马斯克与美国证券交易委员会（SEC）达成和解。和解内容包括：马斯克将辞任特斯拉董事长，并缴纳 2000 万美元的罚金，另外 2000 万美元罚金由特斯拉负担。最为重要的是，对于这4000万美元，SEC 并不是自己留着当小金库发奖金，也不是上缴美国联邦财政，而是要通过法院批准的程序，返还给遭受损失的投资者。

其实将罚款的主要部分返还给遭受损失的投资者或者消费者，而不是纳入小金库或者充公，是成熟和对投资者负责的资本市场监管的重要特征。

根据和解协议，马斯克必须在 45 天内辞去特斯拉董事长职务，并且在未来三年内不得再担任董事长。此外，特斯拉也同意任命两位新独立董事加入其董事会，并成立一个独立董事委员会。

SEC 将对马斯克施以额外的监督，以保证其行为合规。

SEC 联合主任史蒂文·皮金（Steven Peikin）在一份声明中表示，“对马斯克的处理旨在防止市场进一步受到破坏，并保护特斯拉股东的权益。”

与此同时，马斯克将继续担任特斯拉 CEO。

以下是SEC 发布的最新公告，及SEC 主席的声明

SEC 公告（中文翻译仅供参考， 英文原文后附）

伊隆麝香清算 SEC 诈骗罪名;特斯拉负责和解决证券法收费结算要求麝香下台作为特斯拉的董事长;特斯拉任命其他独立董事;特斯拉和麝香同意支付4000万美元的罚款, 

立即公告2018-226 

华盛顿特区, 

2018年9月29日-证券交易委员会（SEC)宣布, 硅谷的特斯拉公司董事长兼首席执行官马斯克和SEC 就上周对他提起的证券诈骗指控达成和解。

SEC 今天还指控特斯拉没有要求披露控制和程序与马斯克的推文内容，这也是特斯拉同意和解的指控。 这些和解内容将需要获得法院的批准； 些和解内容将会导致特拉斯全面的公司治理和其他改革，包括马斯克先生不再担任特斯拉公司的董事长， 及马斯克和特斯拉公司将支付相应的财务处罚。

根据 SEC 对他的指控, 马斯克于2018年8月7日发布推文宣称, 他可以对特斯拉公司以每股420美元的价格进行私有化，他还宣称交易资金已得到担保, 并认为唯一剩余的不确定性是股东投票。 SEC 的控诉称, 事实上, 马斯克是知道潜在的交易是不确定的, 并会受到许多意外事件的侵害。 事实上， 马斯克在当时并没有与任何潜在的融资伙伴讨论具体的交易条款, 包括价格, 而他关于可能交易的声明实际上缺乏充分的基础。 根据 SEC 的诉状, 马斯克的误导性推特导致特斯拉的股价在8月7日超过 6%, 并导致市场严重中断。

根据 SEC 对特斯拉的指控, 尽管特斯拉公司在2013年就告知资本市场，特斯拉公司打算使用其CEO 马斯克的 Twitter 帐户作为一种手段, 来对外陈述特斯拉的重大信息并鼓励投资者关注马斯克的推特账号； 然而， 特斯拉没有采取任何披露控制或程序, 以识别马斯克的推文是否包含需要向SEC 提交披露的信息； 特斯拉公司也没有采取足够控制程序以确保马斯克的推文内容是准确或完整的。

依据和解协议， 马斯克和特斯拉公司对SEC 的指控既不承认也不否认， 在此情况下， SEC 同意解除对他们的指控。 同时其他的法律救济内容包括：马斯克将不再担任特斯拉公司的董事会主席，该职务将有由独立主席取代； 而且马斯克将没有资格连任主席三年;

特斯拉将任命两名新的独立董事到董事会;

特斯拉将成立一个新的独立董事委员会, 并制定额外的控制和程序, 以监督马斯克的沟通;

马斯克和特斯拉将分别支付2000万美元的罚款。 在法院批准的程序下, 这4000万元美元的罚款将返还给遭受损失的投资者。

SEC 的联合董事斯蒂芬妮 Avakian 表示: "今天公布的整套补救措施和救济方案, 旨在通过加强特斯拉的公司治理和监督来解决问题上的不当行为, 以保护投资者."。

SEC 执行司的联合主任史蒂文 Peikin补充说："由于达成和解, 马斯克将不再是特斯拉的董事长, 特斯拉的董事会将采取重要的改革-包括有义务监督马斯克与投资者的沟通-和双方将支付财务罚款,"  "该决议旨在防止对特斯拉的股东造成进一步的市场破坏和损害."

SEC 公告内容如下：

Elon Musk Settles SEC Fraud Charges; Tesla Charged With and Resolves Securities Law Charge                                     

Settlement Requires Musk to Step Down as Tesla’s Chairman; Tesla to Appoint Additional Independent Directors; Tesla and Musk Agree to Pay $40 million in Penalties             

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
         2018-226     

Washington D.C.,           

Sept. 29, 2018 —

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Elon Musk, CEO and Chairman of Silicon Valley-based Tesla, Inc., has agreed to settle the securities fraud charge brought by the SEC against him last week.  The SEC also today charged Tesla with failing to have required disclosure controls and procedures relating to Musk’s tweets, a charge that Tesla has agreed to settle.  The settlements, which are subject to court approval, will result in comprehensive corporate governance and other reforms at Tesla—including Musk’s removal as Chairman of the Tesla board—and the payment by Musk and Tesla of financial penalties.

According to the SEC’s complaint against him, Musk tweeted on August 7, 2018 that he could take Tesla private at $420 per share — a substantial premium to its trading price at the time — that funding for the transaction had been secured, and that the only remaining uncertainty was a shareholder vote.  The SEC’s complaint alleged that, in truth, Musk knew that the potential transaction was uncertain and subject to numerous contingencies.  Musk had not discussed specific deal terms, including price, with any potential financing partners, and his statements about the possible transaction lacked an adequate basis in fact.  According to the SEC’s complaint, Musk’s misleading tweets caused Tesla’s stock price to jump by over six percent on August 7, and led to significant market disruption.

According to the SEC’s complaint against Tesla, despite notifying the market in 2013 that it intended to use Musk’s Twitter account as a means of announcing material information about Tesla and encouraging investors to review Musk’s tweets, Tesla had no disclosure controls or procedures in place to determine whether Musk’s tweets contained information required to be disclosed in Tesla’s SEC filings.  Nor did it have sufficient processes in place to that Musk’s tweets were accurate or complete.

Musk and Tesla have agreed to settle the charges against them without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.  Among other relief, the settlements require that:

• Musk will step down as Tesla’s Chairman and be replaced by an independent Chairman.  Musk will be ineligible to be re-elected Chairman for three years;

• Tesla will appoint a total of two new independent directors to its board;

• Tesla will establish a new committee of independent directors and put in place additional controls and procedures to oversee Musk’s communications;

• Musk and Tesla will each pay a separate $20 million penalty.  The $40 million in penalties will be distributed to harmed investors under a court-approved process. 

“The total package of remedies and relief announced today are specifically designed to address the misconduct at issue by strengthening Tesla’s corporate governance and oversight in order to protect investors,” said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. 

“As a result of the settlement, Elon Musk will no longer be Chairman of Tesla, Tesla’s board will adopt important reforms —including an obligation to oversee Musk’s communications with investors—and both will pay financial penalties,” added Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  “The resolution is intended to prevent further market disruption and harm to Tesla’s shareholders.”

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Walker Newell, Brent Smyth, and Barrett Atwood and supervised by Steven Buchholz, Erin Schneider, and Jina Choi in the San Francisco Regional Office and Cheryl Crumpton in the SEC’s Home Office.

SEC 主席声明如下：

今天, SEC委员会宣布和马斯克及特斯拉公司达成了和解。 马斯克先生是特斯拉的董事长兼首席执行官, 是该公司最大的股东, 拥有约22% 的优先股份。 双方达成的和解内容详细情况仍需经法院批准。 这件事已经被我们的华尔街主要投资者广泛关注, 我相信对以下几个问题的我的如下评论是适当的: 

在过去星期四, 基于彻底的调查, 并与马斯克先生和特斯拉的代表进行对话后, SEC委员会在联邦地区法院对麝香先生提起诉讼。 我完全支持这项行动的提交。

我还完全支持今天所达成的和解内容, 并认为, 迅速落实和解中所达成的条款, 包括增加两个独立董事的特斯拉董事会和其他治理增强特斯拉, 是最有利的我们的市场和投资者, 包括特斯拉的股东。

这件事重申了我们以披露为基础的联邦证券法所体现的一项重要原则。 具体来说, 当公司和企业内部人士发表声明时, 他们必须负责任地行事, 包括努力确保声明不是虚假的或误导性的, 也不遗漏任何合理投资者认为重要投资决策的信息。

更广泛地说, SEC 的执法工作涉及公司高管、董事和公司的不当行为, 通常情况下, 普通股东的利益--他们没有参与公司的不当行为--与冒犯的高管和公司的利益相互交织在一起。 例如, 公司罚款支付所使用的资金本来可以用来使股东受益, 而某些个人的技能和支持可能对公司未来的成功很重要。在委员会中, 普通投资者的利益是我们心目中所关注的问题, 在涉及不当行为的事项上, 我们力求在切实可行的范围内为这些利益服务, 同时亦确保我们能补救和遏止不当行为。 此外, 追究个人责任是重要的和有效的威慑手段。 我相信今天所达成的和解方案体现了了这些多重利益和考虑。

最后, 我赞扬执法司在这方面的迅速、专业和彻底的工作, 我感谢公司财务司的工作人员和委员会的许多其他成员, 包括我的各位委员, 他们花了大量的时间和注意力在这件事上。

以下是SEC 主席的声明英文全文内容

Statement Regarding Agreed Settlements with Elon Musk and Tesla

Chairman Jay Clayton

Sept. 29, 2018

Today, the Commission announced agreed settlements with Elon Musk and Tesla.  Mr. Musk is the Chairman and CEO of Tesla and is the company’s largest stockholder, owning approximately 22% of its outstanding shares.  The details of the agreed settlements, which remain subject to court approval, are available here.  This matter has been widely followed by our Main Street investors and I believe comment[1] on several matters is appropriate:

This past Thursday, after the completion of a thorough investigation and following dialogue with representatives of Mr. Musk and Tesla, the Commission filed an action against Mr. Musk in federal district court.  I fully supported the filing of the action.

I also fully support the settlements agreed today and believe that the prompt resolution of this matter on the agreed terms, including the addition of two independent directors to the Tesla board and the other governance enhancements at Tesla, is in the best interests of our markets and our investors, including the shareholders of Tesla.

This matter reaffirms an important principle embodied in our disclosure-based federal securities laws.  Specifically, when companies and corporate insiders make statements, they must act responsibly, including endeavoring to ensure the statements are not false or misleading and do not omit information a reasonable investor would consider important in making an investment decision.

Speaking more broadly about the SEC’s enforcement efforts that involve the misconduct of officers, directors and companies, it often is the case that the interests of ordinary shareholders — who had no involvement in the misconduct — are intertwined with the interests of offending officials and the company.  For example, corporate fines often are financed with funds that could otherwise benefit shareholders, and the skills and support of certain individuals may be important to the future success of a company.  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.  In addition, holding individuals accountable is important and an effective means of deterrence.  I believe the settlements agreed today reflect these multiple interests and considerations.

In closing, I commend the Division of Enforcement for their prompt, professional and thorough work on this matter, and I thank the staff in the Division of Corporation Finance and the many other members of the Commission, including my fellow Commissioners, who devoted substantial time and attention to this matter.

---

[1] This statement is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of any other Commissioner or the Commission.

继民财经汇点评：马斯克的一个推文竟然不仅花费了4000万美元，而且还让自己丢掉了特斯拉公司董事长的宝座，真是赔了夫人又折兵。这个案例给在美国上市公司的高管，尤其是公司创始人，一个鲜活的教训：美国资本市场的监管并非是摆设，公司的创始人和高管对外信息披露一定要遵循严格的内部控制程序， 公司高管的公开言论，不仅会被SEC 盯上，还可能同时被做空机构、 美国司法部、华尔街“诉棍”等多种的监管力量所紧密跟踪。因此， 在要去美国上市， 公司的CFO 和IR 在信息披露上，对公司的高管尤其是创始人CEO 要勇于担起应有的责任。CEO 要管好自己， CFO 要管好CEO, 赴美上市，这个是基本原则。

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