Another source says, "The SEC claimed Musk saved over $150 million by breaking the disclosure rules, now it’s settling for $1.5 million."
So he came out ahead by $148.5 million. I don't see any reason why he would not violate SEC rules again.
6103
TheLeapIsALie6 days ago
+2441
Amazing what happens when you buy yourself a whole branch of government.
2441
annaleigh136 days ago
+888
This isn’t a regime specific issue. The SEC for YEARS have levied “cost of doing business” fines for major corporations. At this point I’m pretty sure most major companies do what they want and factor a 10% cut for the SEC
888
praguepride6 days ago
+300
if the fine is less than the crime then it isnt a crime, its taxable income
300
fuqyu6 days ago
+79
I would LOVE to get taxed at that rate
79
hovdeisfunny6 days ago
+30
Yeah, 1% would be fantastic
30
NovusNiveus6 days ago
+12
I see what you're saying, but as an enjoyer of robust public services, I would not love that.
12
TheCommodore446 days ago
+30
Are these robust public services in the room with us now?
30
NovusNiveus6 days ago
+20
Now you mention it, no. That's the problem.
20
yammys6 days ago
+6
Don't worry, Elon solved all the fraud waste and abuse in the government. We should see those robust public services any day now along with a check from DOGE
6
Salt-Operation6 days ago
+3
What “robust” public services?
Interstate road maintenance is at an all time low. Federal judges are in the pockets of politicians and billionaires. Social Security hasn’t been keeping up with inflation.
Our tax dollars are funding vanity wars and hideous ballrooms. They’re lining the pockets of admitted criminals.
3
Numerous_Photograph96 days ago
+6
If the punishment for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.
6
bushido2166 days ago
+205
He paid a 1% dividend on his windfall. It really is us vs them.
Companies do this in general. I worked for a retailer that used the fire escapes to store overstock during the Christmas season. They were fined each time they got caught, but that was cheaper than leasing more storage space.
48
ETxsubboy6 days ago
+43
Walmart made employees clock out for breaks in the late 90s to early 2000's. Wage theft. Class action lawsuit got settled so I could get a check for the hundreds of hours of pay stole from me and every other employee - for less than $20.
Folks don't really get it. Corporations as a concept were literally created around one principle: the ends justify the means in the attainment of wealth.
43
socialistForDE6 days ago
+6
And now you might see the appeal of abolishing all private companies
6
allanon11056 days ago
+28
SEC needs reform to have real teeth against these corporations
28
BeneCow6 days ago
+19
Because decades ago smart people realised getting the SEC toothless would make them money. Dumb people took that playbook and applied it to everything and we end up here.
19
Emperor_Zar6 days ago
+12
I mean. That’s the land of the free, right? Free to do as you please as long as you can pay for it.
Until fines bankrupt companies and individuals, they are nothing but operating expenses. If corporations are people, where’s the corporate death penalty?
12
rascallyrascal15116 days ago
+4
Same for big banks and the CFPB.
4
Stray_Neutrino6 days ago
+3
The "You Ain't See Nuttin'" fee.
3
FlyingStealthPotato6 days ago
+11
Nobody wants to hear about gamestop, but it’s rules for thee and not for me. I was there pre market in 2021. 5 shares in hand, limit sell orders at $500 (my whole cost basis), $5000, $10000, $50000, and $200000 (what I had left to pay on my house). It was moving up a dollar per second and accelerating.
Then they shut off JUST the buy button and the price tanked by 95%. Only time in history this has happened. They shut off buying only. There was one congressional hearing and then no consequences for completely and absolutely f****** the “free” market and f****** thousands or millions of individuals out of life changing money.
Say what you will about the absurdity of what happened with gamestop, but mathematically it was a sure thing and should have gone into the thousands at least until there were fewer debted shares than existed at the time.
11
EnigmaSpore6 days ago
+10
the corporations became “citizens” and also captured the govt.
Late stage capitalism at its finest
10
LinkedInParkPremium6 days ago
+170
You cannot make this shit up. Apparently he made a great decision.
170
Parahelix6 days ago
+35
I think it's more that Americans just made an extremely poor decision.
35
[deleted]6 days ago
+15
[deleted]
15
Soft_Walrus_36055 days ago
+2
A certain segment of the population cheers people on when they cheat the government and think it makes them "smarter".
2
PhazePyre6 days ago
+65
I feel like laws should require it be equal to the amount + 25% or some shit. They should never come out ahead. It just rewards shitty behaviour. Like would we fine a bank robber $1K and let them walk with whatever they stole? No? This shit should be crimes, not just inappropriate behaviour/conduct.
65
Biggie396 days ago
+26
I’m honestly surprised money is going from Musk to the government… I assumed we were gonna end up paying him for some reason.
26
nathanzoet916 days ago
+11
It'll just go to trump, so we won't benefit from even the chump change
11
Particular-County2776 days ago
+36
Yip. Just the price of doing business
36
BusterStarfish6 days ago
+10
The fine should always start at whatever amount has been stolen and go up from there. Either way, there is no crime a billionaire can’t get away with.
10
AusToddles6 days ago
+16
When the fine is a fraction of the profit, then its just written off as the cost of doing business
16
RedBeans-n-Ricely6 days ago
+7
This just goes to show that if you have enough money, laws don’t apply.
7
TorrenceMightingale6 days ago
+3
“Bu but the inefficiency!”
3
Tyrilean6 days ago
+2
The government is cool with rich people crimes so long as they get their cut.
2
OkCat56 days ago
+4
And Martha Stewart went to jail. Fair. /s
4
Yvaelle6 days ago
+5
Hey Gemini, what's the fastest way I can violate SEC rules to make $148.5M?
5
Yadahoom6 days ago
+6
He could have paid 50 billion dollars and still had like 800 billion dollars left.
Imagine any of us just having one million dollars
6
qosthanatos6 days ago
+5
So 0.00019% of his net worth. Thats the equivalent of a millionaire being fined $190, instead of having to pay $19,000. What a joke.
5
ImaginationToForm26 days ago
+3
Fines are cheaper than the crime.
3
GregEgg4President6 days ago
+3
He paid a 1% fee to be allowed to break the law.
3
Numerous_Photograph96 days ago
+3
Unfortunately, this isn't really uncommon with the SEC, although this is also an extreme of one of their settlements. It's pretty common for them to investigate and levy fines of hudreds of millions, then settle for half or maybe tens of those millions.
The government gets the money, the company doesn't have to admit fault or isn't sanctioned in any way, and the victims end up with nothing unless they sue individually, which ends up being costly.
3
texinxin6 days ago
+2
I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t do it ever again. This is an awesome case study in how to defraud the public by bribing the government with a minor fee.
2
Scarlet_Bard6 days ago
+2
This is what it always looks like when rich people and corporations “lose” in court. Steal a 100 million dollars, pay a 1 million dollar fine, keep the money, rinse, repeat.
2
Beneficial-Age-40596 days ago
+1
Seems pretty profitable.
1
ygduf6 days ago
+1
Laws you only pay a fine to break are only laws for poor people.
1
cavscout86 days ago
+1
Just the price of doing business. Ridiculous.
1
Sedert18826 days ago
+572
$1.5m fine? What a sick joke.
572
ENaC26 days ago
+155
That is literal pocket change for somebody with such grotesque wealth.
155
uncleawesome6 days ago
+77
It's not even pocket change. That is something he saw on the sidewalk and didn't bother to bend over and pick up.
77
hovdeisfunny6 days ago
+43
Musk is currently worth around $800B
$1.5M is 0.0001875% of his wealth
US household median income is about $84K
0.0001875% of that is $0.1575, or about 16¢
43
CaptainMonkeyJack6 days ago
+45
Did you just compare wealth to income?
The [median net worth in 2022](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scf/dataviz/scf/table/#series:Net_Worth;demographic:all;population:all;units:median) was \~$192K.
So it's \~36c.
Why do an apple to orange comparison... when apple to apple makes the same point?
45
Head6 days ago
+2
Mmmm apples.
2
enters_and_leaves5 days ago
+2
Mmmmnaghrhaff, head.
2
belbivfreeordie6 days ago
+5
I have to know what he has paid his lawyers for handling this matter.
5
Useful_Respect33396 days ago
+4
Musk defecated through a sunroof.
4
mapppa6 days ago
+4
Why can you settle cases with a government agency like the SEC in the first place? That doesn't make sense unless you want to invite corrupt... oh, I get it now...
4
HeinzeC15 days ago
+2
$1.5m investment\*
2
HobbesNJ6 days ago
+910
Nothing but corruption these days.
910
Harbor7336 days ago
+139
I really think history books will refer to this as “The Age of Corruption”. It is so blatant, so common, and so normalized.
139
Giuseppe_exitplan6 days ago
+17
when would that era begin? what year?
17
Raesong6 days ago
+21
I'd probably start around 2000-2001, and call the whole thing "The End of Pax Americana".
21
Wolfram_And_Hart6 days ago
+9
2010 when citizens united won
9
DisillusionedPatriot6 days ago
+7
I'd say 1995, when the WTO officially started. That's when this leg of the shift began, which was triggered by the greedgasm known as reaganomics, which was triggered by Nixon leaving the gold standard at the recommendation of players still on the board today. So, 1971, maybe?
7
Raesong6 days ago
+3
Maybe, but this does highlight an issue with dividing history into discrete chunks.
3
Giuseppe_exitplan6 days ago
+5
Yeah. Its hard to make something black and white when theres so many colours.
5
AdonisK6 days ago
+53
To be fair, this sort of BS has been happening for a while now in the U.S., it’s just more blatant now.
53
rascallyrascal15116 days ago
+12
How much of this do you think goes back to Musk and DOGE making cuts to the SEC, CFPB, EPA, and other agencies last year?
12
HobbesNJ6 days ago
+14
A lot. Trump put the billionaire fox in charge of the hen house. They hamstrung the departments that got in the way of the wealthy doing whatever they want.
14
Fallouttgrrl6 days ago
+383
Hard to be a government agency needing to regulate Musk when he can just have Big Balls installed as your boss, I guess
383
Bealzebubbles6 days ago
+30
We all know that 19 year olds with no real-world experience make the best decisions.
30
epidemicsaints6 days ago
+8
He has real world experience being a cyber criminal.
8
fossilnews6 days ago
+196
He already has a prior settlement for fraud. This settlement is beyond corrupt.
196
Lost_Drunken_Sailor6 days ago
+13
So much corruption and it’s not even hidden anymore. There’s nothing anyone can do about it so they happily do it in front of everyone now. A big F U to society.
13
fossilnews6 days ago
+6
Making $150M and being fined $1.5M. He really learned his lesson.
6
ph33randloathing6 days ago
+49
F*** me, has it only been four years?
49
ButtonholePhotophile6 days ago
+2
Hope long have we been married that once every four years send like a lot?
2
FrancoManiac6 days ago
+41
It could be $1.5 *billion* and it wouldn't hardly impact him. What a f****** joke.
41
srone6 days ago
+110
To put that into perspective, if you were worth $100,000, you would have been fined...
$0.18... Yes, 18 cents.
110
VoDoka6 days ago
+6
Bro made that money back by the time his accountant finished typing in the transaction to the SEC.
6
Novel-Lifeguard64916 days ago
+26
The settlement is $1.5 million, paid by a trust, with no admission of wrongdoing and no requirement to return any of the money he allegedly saved. His lawyer called it vindication. That's one way to describe it.
26
metarugia6 days ago
+26
If I’m ever caught doing something illegal, I’ll be expecting the same “deal”. 1% of the fine.
Speeding ticket, taxes, etc.
26
rascallyrascal15116 days ago
+3
For real!
3
Brilliant-Emu8596 days ago
+60
How the f*** are Americans not rioting in the streets right now. That’s a disgrace. Your whole system is collapsing into a farce
60
Mephiz6 days ago
+20
Imagine if you were living in a police state where your healthcare is tied to your job.
You have no labor rights and missing any time at all means not only do you lose your job, you lose your family’s healthcare.
So people only protest in the safest possible manner and are polite as hell. Don’t want to get on the wrong side of Officer Porcine Wonder and the goon squad and miss a day of work.
Then of course you have the idiotic “constitutional carry” nitwits who claim open carrying their guns at protests is their right and that their right trumps your right to not be worried about psychos with guns…
Anyways we have fucked around, created a hellscape, and are currently finding out.
20
JennyWearsBlueJeans6 days ago
+24
Everyone above the age of 35 has kids and doesn’t want to end up in jail and leave their children parentless, and everyone below the age of 35 is too addicted to their phone to give a shit.
I’m kidding, but also I’m not
24
AwesomePossum_16 days ago
+3
This is a lawsuit about the rights of other Twitter shareholders. Why would regular people be protesting in support of former Twitter billionaire owners?
3
No-Banana-30556 days ago
+57
This is just a "wise" investment paying off. Nothing to see here folks. Just another day in corporate America.
57
LotsofSports6 days ago
+15
Throw his ass in jail.
15
008Zulu6 days ago
+2
Can't, he's too rich.
2
Pourkinator6 days ago
+7
What’s sad is locking up all the ultra rich (who have all committed some kind of financial or worse crime) would solve a lot of the worlds problems.
7
not_your_google6 days ago
+31
grift, grift, grift......... what else is new?
31
Pale-Inspector-80946 days ago
+9
A little investment in Trump can have great returns.
9
boothash6 days ago
+7
Pretty weird how SEC basically just lets anyone do anything against the law, just as long as they get their cut of the action.
7
DamienZombie106 days ago
+2
it’s more like they pick and choose what to go after. some stuff gets hit hard, other things just slide. kinda depends who’s involved lol
2
Foxhack6 days ago
+7
He paid the bribe and is free to go.
7
zshort72726 days ago
+6
Absolute f****** joke. Rules don’t apply to the rich, they will continue to do more to f*** everyone up, and will face zero consequences.
6
Chimvape6 days ago
+6
The law is a joke at this point.
6
cloudsmiles6 days ago
+6
0.000001875% of his worth. F*** this weak ass administration. We need to change how things work.
6
Luckydog126 days ago
+6
‘Government settles with Trumps corrupt friends over their corruption.’
This headline will repeat itself until 2029.
6
RobutNotRobot6 days ago
+7
Hey look public corruption in the open.
Again.
7
GloomyLove21596 days ago
+6
His net worth is estimated on the LOW END to be 651 billion. A 1.5 million dollar fine is 0.00023% of his money. Not even chump change. If you had 100,000, the equivalent fine would $0.23. 23 CENTS.
6
Angelic_Doom6 days ago
+10
Expect nothing when billioners control the government.
10
askjeeves296 days ago
+21
Never has the swamp been so swampy yaknowatimsayin
21
XnoXhalo6 days ago
+14
Remember when Elon twitted that Donald J Trump was in the Epstein files. Pepperidge farm remembers.
14
CrashOverIt6 days ago
+5
Being rich must be f****** awesome. Buy a corporation and do whatever the hell you want to do. You can literally kill people and ruin as many lives as you possibly can and you’ll just have to pay a fine.
Our system is a joke.
5
Civil_Ear57636 days ago
+5
And they’re losing their minds over someone buying soda with SNAP
5
Z34N06 days ago
+4
Ah.. so that’s what a billionaire’s subscription fee is for bypassing laws these days.
Nice. Anyway..
4
jeanborrero6 days ago
+8
If the penalty for illegal things becomes a fine then that’s just another cost of doing business. Awful
8
PhazePyre6 days ago
+5
AKA he's paying a fee to do shitty stuff. Another example of the rich doing whatever they fuckin' want like horrid dragons. A reminder how dragons are supposed to be dealt with in the legends.
5
Pleasant-Ad8876 days ago
+4
Of course he does. Whatever the settlement is it will be orders of magnitudes less than if went the full way. Shows how rich people get slapped on the wrist for being pieces of shit.
4
TheCzar116 days ago
+3
Hopefully, these government deals can be investigated and prosecuted if we return to the rule of law at some point. I’m voting for whoever promises tribunals…
3
Taokan6 days ago
+4
Wow ... I need to remember that excuse. No, it's not that I fraudulently didn't do the thing I was legally required to do ... I was just ... late.
4
Future-Fly-89876 days ago
+5
This does not rise to the level of a slap on the wrist.
5
New-Leader-78916 days ago
+3
So you can pay a bribe to commit a crime basically
3
LordBunnyWhale6 days ago
+4
Apparently crime does pay if you're ultra wealthy.
4
dabeeman6 days ago
+6
rich person avoids meaningful repercussions again could be an alternative and more accurate headline.
6
kataflokc6 days ago
+3
I’d call that little more than a slap on the wrist, but a slap would at least hurt
3
hylo236 days ago
+3
Someone may want to look into this. Seems like these rich people had a plan. Does anyone else have a plan?
3
Slim7066 days ago
+3
Settlement. They might as well have let him keep the 1.5 million. That’s less than a drop in a bucket to him.
3
Designer_Holiday32846 days ago
+3
The law only applies to the poor.
3
AsteroidMike6 days ago
+3
God I’m so sick of Elon Musk.
3
Yelloeisok6 days ago
+3
$1.5 Million to a man worth $44 Billion doesn’t even amount to a tip.
3
Itchy_Tiger_87746 days ago
+3
I can't believe it took this long for Trump to tell them to drop it.
3
THAErAsEr6 days ago
+3
Failed banana republic type of shit
3
Own-Dependent-46016 days ago
+3
the part that stands out is no admission of wrongdoing pay a relatively small fine, keep the gains, case closed for regular investors this would look very different
3
venom216856 days ago
+3
Imagine if you could rob a bank and steal $250,000 and only get fined for $2,500.
3
troveofcatastrophe5 days ago
+2
.59 Cents
2
apoca1ypse126 days ago
+3
F****** corruption at its finest. F*** this mofo
3
WaffleBlues6 days ago
+5
Are we paying him money now? Or did the settlement end up with Trump personally getting paid by taxpayers?
5
Wdshow6 days ago
+5
Everyone is saying Elon made a great decision. If Trumps people weren’t in charge it would have been much more
5
JohnnyDrama6116 days ago
+2
This is about the norm these days, if you have money, you can do whatever you want.
2
Sad-Math-20396 days ago
+2
Weird, it's like laws don't have any effect towards wealthy people.
2
ThePensiveE6 days ago
+2
He spent more on the election than he would have spent just not fighting this.
He hates America and Americans that much.
2
Jaded-Kangaroo5696 days ago
+2
Let me wet my beak Mr. Musk- the SEC.
2
deejay-tech6 days ago
+2
A corporation and the richest man on earth getting a slap on the wrist? You don't say.
2
InstructionPurple9116 days ago
+2
Honestly I just hope that if I ever have to suffer any consequences for any of my crimes, it's the SEC that is handing down my sentence.
2
TrickyChildhood29176 days ago
+2
Isn’t America corrupt to the core. Asking for a friend
2
ButterMyPancakesPlz6 days ago
+2
Guess his work at fudging the election paid off
2
PigFarmer16 days ago
+2
It paid off bigly.
2
kathleen656 days ago
+2
I don’t think I have ever disliked any group of people until these billionaire assholes came along. Their greed is literally destroying this world and they don’t care.
2
junglepiehelmet6 days ago
+2
A slight slap on the wrist, f*** this government
2
shadowdra1266 days ago
+2
That’s chump change to Elon. F*** that
2
Tricky_Search_51815 days ago
+2
In other words, he pays 1.5M to generate 150M. That sounds like a nice deal, not a punishment for something illegal
2
Shtankins014 days ago
+2
Which wrist is he being slapped on?
2
TheRexRider6 days ago
+5
Cost of doing business.
5
Mindless_Listen76226 days ago
+4
The most corrupt administration in history continues to demonstrate why it is the most corrupt administration in history.
4
Curmudgeonadjacent6 days ago
+5
Breaking laws and paying a fine is always the most cost effective way of doing business for the rich. Laws are for us commoners, not the oligarchs.
5
NapoleonBlownapart96 days ago
+3
Regulatory Capture is a real m*********** for democracy. 5% of his net worth would’ve gotten his and the other olighouls’ attention, maybe.
3
futureblackpopstar6 days ago
+2
I very much dislike Elon but I read an article (Matt Levine’s Money Stuff. Great stuff) about how they couldn’t find victims who needed to be made whole. He needed to disclose when he bought 5+% but everybody ultimately got a better price than they would’ve anyways.
I think it’s still illegal and I want him punished for what he’s done to our democracy. But the settlement price KINDA makes sense to me in that context
2
DrunkEngr6 days ago
+6
Nobody was harmed by Martha Stewart’s insider trading but she still went to jail.
6
Pawtuckaway6 days ago
+11
That is why punitive damages exist. It doesn't matter if there are victims in this particular instance or not.
Someone who commits fraud but everyone just happens to make out OK shouldn't be punished less than someone who commits the same fraud but victims lose money.
This was the same argument when trump was committing fraud for loans and people were saying it was OK because there was no victim this time and the bank still made money.
11
MaggieSmith_496 days ago
+1
What is this Twitter ye are all talking about
1
Asketes6 days ago
+1
Just the price of doing business as a billionaire.
1
bluddystump6 days ago
+1
Until there is a return to meeting out equal justice for all the system will remain a market where the accused is allowed to bargain and pay their way out of trouble.
1
vintagegeek6 days ago
+1
Coincidental, 1.5 million is exactly his 'violate an SEC order' budget for the week.
1
Shabooooozy6 days ago
+1
Let me guess, we have to pay him.
1
blueintexas6 days ago
+1
Is the SEC going to pay home $100B with check signed by Trump
1
blzrlzr6 days ago
+1
Welllll the SEC won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see, they tried to shut him down on X you see but it feels so empty without…
his shitty platform that he ruined.
1
writeorelse6 days ago
+1
If only this could have resulted in him having to rename it back and give it to someone else!
1
shadowsdonotlie6 days ago
+1
There is a cost for everything, SEC had to name their cost. He paid and he is now free to do it again.
1
GeefTheQueef6 days ago
+1
Wonder what the going rate is for a year of SEC litigators time. Seems like this is barely “pay us back for the time we spent investigating you”
165 Comments