Tesla shares surge over 15 percent after SEC settlement 

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors

Tesla shares were up over 15 percent in pre-market trade on Monday after Chief Executive Elon Musk settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC charged Tesla with fraud alleging CEO Elon Musk issued “false and misleading” statements and failed to properly notify regulators of material company events. The charges were in relation to a tweet that Musk posted in August saying he was considering taking the electric carmaker public at $420 a share.

But on Saturday, Musk settled the charges with the SEC, agreeing to pay a civil penalty of $20 million and give up his role as chairman of the board for at least three years. The SEC also imposed a fine of $20 million on Tesla. The carmaker must also appoint two independent directors to the board.

Under the deal’s terms, Musk and Tesla neither admit or deny wrongdoing alleged by regulators.

The more than 15 percent rise in shares comes after Tesla’s stock plunged nearly 14 percent on Friday.

Investors will now be focusing on Tesla’s next earnings report. Over the weekend Musk sent an email to staff saying that Tesla was “very close’ to being profitable. In two emails obtained by CNBC, Musk told staff to “ignore the distractions” and that the company was close to “proving naysayers wrong.”