(Reuters) - Shares of Tesla Inc fell as much as 5 percent on Friday, after Chief Executive Elon Musk stirred nerves about the settlement of his securities fraud lawsuit by mocking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Twitter.
The tweet calling the SEC the "Shortseller Enrichment Commission" came just hours after a federal judge ordered Musk and the SEC to write a letter justifying a settlement which allows him to remain in charge at Tesla.
"Just want to [sic] that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work," Musk, a frequent critic of investors betting against the electric car company said in the tweet. "And the name change is so on point!"
The electric carmaker's shares plunged last week after the SEC accused Musk, 47, of fraud over "false and misleading" tweets on Aug. 7 that promised to take Tesla private and said funding had been secured.
The lawsuit threatened to pull Tesla and Musk into a long drawn-out fight that could have undermined the company's operations and ability to raise capital.
In the settlement that was announced over the weekend, Tesla and Musk instead agreed to pay $20 million each to the regulator while the billionaire - also a large Tesla shareholder - would step down as chairman but continue as CEO.
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