"Recalls are certainly an issue that continues to touch everyone who owns a motor vehicle, and nothing drove that point home more clearly than the Takata recall, which went across 19 different manufacturers," Levine said.Joe Raedle | Getty Images
The Japanese automaker was fined billions for issuing misleading and deceptive statements to its customers and federal regulators, including a deferred prosecution agreement with a $1.2 billion criminal penalty in 2014 and another $1.2 billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit in 2012. Most notably, a September 2018 settlement agreement with the SEC removed Musk from his chairman role of the company. Tesla and Musk also agreed to each pay $20 million in fines.
Months later, Musk's deal with the SEC appeared to be in jeopardy when the agency asked a judge last February to hold Musk in contempt for violating its settlement deal. The SEC cited an "inaccurate" Feb. 19 tweet about vehicle production. On that date, Musk tweeted — then revised — projections for full-year Tesla manufacturing numbers of "around" 50,000 units.