SEC issues a "no-action framework letter": retail investors authorize once and by default follow board voting, Tesla is first to get the template.

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance said on Tuesday that if Tesla operates a voluntary program in the manner describedallowing retail shareholders to give "standing instructions" to vote as recommended by Tesla's board unless they specify otherwisethe division would not recommend enforcement action. This no-action letter is not just about Tesla: it is written as a "framework," and the SEC explicitly states in the letter that "the position set forth above applies to any issuer that operates a program in the same manner." In other words, Tesla got the template, and other companies can simply copy it. The letter was submitted jointly by Tesla General Counsel Brandon Ehrhart and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP on September 29, and the SEC's Office of Mergers and Acquisitions responded the same day; a footnote in the letter explains the "asked and answered the same day" speedthe two sides had been in communication on the matter for months beforehand.