So if I understand the timeline right Musk said "funding secured", then only a couple days later asks Larry Page for money?
I wouldn't call "hey, you broke the law and will receive the legal punishment" blackmailing. When a DA makes a plead deal with criminals, that's also blackmail in your world?
Like a lot of people in these situations, he may have thought he could beat this in court but due to circumstance (like Tesla's shaky financial situation at the time) accepted the deal to make it go away. That's still not blackmailing.
I think you should listen to the full quote. Musk said that bankers were withholding funding to Tesla when they were having a funding crunch so if Musk had pursued the defense in the lawsuit rather than settling then it would have bankrupted Tesla. Musk WANTED to not settle, but wasn't able to. That's what he's saying. BTW if you note, Musk in general has never settled basically any lawsuit he's ever been engaged in besides this one. He always fights until the end win or lose.