Elon Musk, Tesla Factory, Fremont (CA, USA) in 2011. Credit: CC BY 2.0

Elon Musk and U.S. securities regulators say they are still trying to work out an agreement that would avoid the Tesla CEO being held in contempt of court over his tweets.

In a filing late Thursday, Musk and a counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission asked U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan to extend their deadline for presenting the court with an " in principle" until April 30, noting that the talks continue to be productive.

The SEC had wanted Nathan to find Musk in contempt of court for violating a settlement that requires his tweets to be approved by a lawyer if they disclose important company facts.

Nathan ordered the two sides to meet and work out their differences.