https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/elon-musk-sec-settlement-judge-approval/

The SEC and Musk had settled on different terms prior to the announcement of the SEC's lawsuit, but Musk's team reportedly backed out of the settlement, and the SEC filed suit shortly thereafter. The lawsuit recommended that Musk receive a lifetime ban from acting as an officer of a publicly traded company, but that language was softened in the subsequent settlement.

This whole kerfuffle began with two simple words: "Funding secured." A tweet from Musk that he was considering taking Tesla private, and had allegedly secured the funding to do so. This launched an SEC investigation into whether or not the funding actually was in place, because if it wasn't, it could be legally troublesome. In the following days, Musk reversed his position, eventually deciding to leave Tesla public for a variety of reasons.