> Kick out the visionary

That wasn't what the SEC proposed in their no-guilt settlement. It was Elon giving up the Chairmanship and appointing two independent directors. That isn't crazy. It wasn't dethroning the king. It was adding sensible checks to a situation that screams for them.

That offer was rejected. The SEC's response is to hem to the statutory punishment for public, material misstatements in a corporate announcement by senior officers.