Musk to Pay 55 Billion KRW to Investors Who Lost Money Over Tesla Delisting Tweet

Delisting Review Tweet Posted 5 Years Ago Was Withdrawn 3 Weeks Later

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has agreed to pay more than 50 billion won to investors who suffered losses after he tweeted five years ago about considering taking Tesla private, then reversed the decision.

According to major foreign media reports, a New York federal court approved on the 1st (local time) the payment of $41.53 million (548.9 billion won) to investors who incurred losses due to Musk's 2018 tweet.

This came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a settlement payment of $40 million plus interest, and Musk's side did not object.

In August 2018, Musk tweeted, "Considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. Funding secured," shaking the U.S. securities market.

Three weeks later, he reversed the tweet, causing the stock price to plunge more than 10%, and Musk was embroiled in a fraud controversy.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla [Image source=Reuters, Yonhap News]

The SEC sued Musk for securities fraud, and Tesla shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit against him and Tesla, claiming damages.

The compensation amounts to 51.7% of the estimated $80 million loss that the SEC attributed to Musk's tweet.

The funds will be paid from a settlement fund to which Musk and Tesla have each already contributed $20 million. A total of 3,350 investors will receive $12,400 each.

Separately, Tesla investors have filed a lawsuit claiming $12 billion in damages due to Musk's tweet.

The SEC also required Musk to obtain lawyers' approval before posting tweets, but Musk filed a lawsuit arguing that this infringed on his freedom of the press rights.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.