JPMorgan Chase closed the book on its yearslong legal pursuit of Tesla on Friday, abandoning a $162.2 million lawsuit it filed in 2021 alleging the carmaker reneged on a stock warrant deal after the bank lowered the strike price.
A one-page court filing noted that the legal dispute between the firms was “voluntarily dismissed with prejudice,” meaning neither firm can refile the claims. Settlement details were not disclosed.
“JPMorgan and Tesla have decided to enter into a new commercial relationship and settle the outstanding disputes between the companies,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told Banking Dive via email. “This is a good outcome for all and we look forward to working together.”
The lawsuit centered on a 2014 contract in which Tesla sold stock warrants – which allow the holder to buy shares of the company at a set “strike” price – to JPMorgan. Per the agreement, if Tesla stock traded above a certain price, the carmaker would owe JPMorgan money in either shares or cash.
The agreement was meant to help Tesla ease the possibility that its share price would be diluted by the issuance of convertible notes, and to make certain federal tax deductions, Bloomberg reported.
Following a 2018 tweet by Elon Musk in which the Tesla CEO said he was considering taking the company private at a share price of $420, and that “funding [was] secured,” Tesla’s price shot up, only to dip weeks later when he said he was abandoning the idea.
The bank adjusted the strike price on both occasions, which Tesla then said was unnecessary. Tesla went on to countersue the bank in 2023, accusing the nation’s largest bank of seeking a “windfall” when it adjusted the strike prices, according to Reuters.
Tesla did not respond to Banking Dive’s request for comment.