Musk, SEC seek another week to reach deal in contempt case

NEW YORK – Lawyers for Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the U.S. government are asking for another week to negotiate a deal to keep Musk from being found in contempt of court.

Both sides say in a letter filed Thursday with a federal court in New York that they talked for over an hour and are still discussing an agreement.

Lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission asked District Judge Alison Nathan to find Musk in contempt for violating a settlement requiring his tweets be approved by a lawyer if they disclose important company facts.

Nathan ordered both sides to work out their differences.

The settlement was reached after Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private even though he had not. The SEC says Musk violated the agreement.