The steep decline left Tesla's stock at $264.77, a 30 percent drop from where it stood Aug. 7 after Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to finance a buyout at $420. According to a person knowledgeable about talks between Tesla and federal securities regulators, CEO Elon Musk rejected a settlement that would have allowed him to pay a small fine and stay on as CEO of the electric car company. The bombshell announcement that federal regulators are seeking to oust Elon Musk as CEO and chairman at Tesla is pushing shares even lower before the opening bell. Tesla and Musk are perceived as inseparable by many investors, with some industry analysts putting his value baked into each Tesla share in excess of $100. After a 13 percent slump before the market opened Friday, Tesla's stock plunged 13 percent to $307.52.

Source: ABC News September 28, 2018 13:03 UTC