When Thursday began, Elon Musk had a deal on the table. The plan, as it was negotiated by lawyers, was for Mr. Musk to step down as chairman of Tesla within 45 days and not resume that post for two years. Mr. Musk and the company would pay tens of millions of dollars in fines, according to the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But for Mr. Musk — an emotional, volatile and cocksure billionaire — the deal was unacceptable. was a “neither admit nor deny” deal, meaning that Mr. Musk would not have acknowledged knowingly committing a violation.

Source: New York Times September 29, 2018 00:21 UTC