Musk fraud deal: Tesla CEO to step down as chairman

Elon Musk steps down as chairman of Tesla as part of a settlement with US financial regulators.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reached a settlement over fraud charges.

Under the deal Musk will remain CEO, pay a 20 million dollar fine and step down as chairman of the company.

The SEC also imposed a $20m fine on Tesla.

Musk is accused of misleading investors after tweeting that he’d secured funding to take the electric carmaker private last month.

Al jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro reports from Washington, DC.

By Heidi Zhou-Castro