The sentence follows the former director's guilty pleas to two insider trading offences tied to a supply deal the electric-car maker signed with Piedmont Lithium Inc in 2020, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC said Kurt Schlosser purchased 86,478 shares in U.S.-based Piedmont in two transactions after being informed of details of a five-year spodumene concentrate supply agreement.

Schlosser sold the shares for a realised profit of $28,883.53 after the agreement became public, according to the watchdog.

The regulator added that Schlosser communicated information to a friend "in circumstances where it was likely" that the person would acquire Piedmont shares.

Last November, Schlosser pled guilty at a court in Sydney.

Tesla and Piedmont Lithium did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments.

(Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru)