Updated Friday:

The share price of Tesla Inc. plunged Thursday and Friday as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk mocked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Twitter and a judge questioned whether Tesla’s SEC settlement was reasonable.

Musk (pictured), along with Tesla, agreed to pay $20 million each in a settlement with the SEC over a lawsuit that alleged that Musk violated anti-fraud provisions of federal securities laws when he posted on Twitter Aug. 7 that he had funding secured to take Tesla private at $420 per share.

That settlement included a provision that Tesla put in place additional controls and procedures to “oversee Musk’s communications,” implying Musk’s use of Twitter. Clearly the company hasn’t done that, because Musk, once again, has taken to Twitter with erratic and arguably defamatory tweets.

Just want to that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work. And the name change is so on point!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2018

“Just want to that the Shortseller Enrichment Commission is doing incredible work. And the name change is so on point!” Musk said in one tweet, referring to the SEC.

In other tweets, Musk talked about short sellers, one of whom is currently suing him, referencing a tweet he wrote in 2012 saying that short sellers are “indeed reasonably maligned.” He even goes further, claiming that short sellers, citing global investment firm BlackRock Inc. specifically, “make excessive profit from short lending while pretending to charge low rates for ‘passive’ index tracking.”

Whether Musk’s latest outbursts on Twitter breaches the SEC agreement may be a moot point. U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan has asked both Tesla and the SEC to submit a joint letter explaining why she should approve their settlement. CNBC reported that federal courts have been known to throw out previous SEC settlements if they think the agency is too lenient.

Former federal prosecutor Jay Hulings is quoted as saying that though the request was unusual, it’s not unheard of. “It’s odd given the nature of this settlement,” Hulings said. “If there is a class action, it’s common. But just for SEC enforcement action, particularly with a big fine, it’s unusual.”

If Musk breached the agreement, that won’t reflect well as the judge makes a final decision.

Tesla shares fell 4.4 percent Thursday, to $281.83, then plunged almost 7 percent in Friday trading.

Photo: Mohammed Abdelzak/Flickr