Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 16, 2023.
Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday rejected tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s attempt to challenge the terms of the settlement he reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, asked a lawyer to review some of his social media posts.
The justices rejected Musk’s appeal of a ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the government agency.
Musk complained that the SEC illegally imposed conditions on his ability to comment online on Tesla-related matters, which it dubbed the “Twitter Custody” provision.
He has long been an impulsive Twitter user, now changing his name to X. Musk acquired the social media company in 2022.
The SEC punished Musk after he tweeted in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private. market shock and initially sent the company’s stock soaring. The agency said the tweets were “false and misleading” and violated securities laws.
Musk agreed to settle a civil securities lawsuit brought by the SEC. As part of that deal, he signed a social media clause.
In a separate civil case, a jury last year found that Musk had not responsible to deceive investors.
Now, Musk is saying the limits on his speech are unconstitutional and saying he was actually coerced into agreeing to it. His lawyer said in court papers that the SEC has waged an “ongoing campaign” against Musk.
This clause, the lawyers added, “restricts Mr. Musk’s speech even when truthful and accurate. It extends to speech that is not regulated by securities laws and does not involve underlying conduct.” in the SEC’s civil lawsuit against Mr. Musk”.
The SEC responded in court papers that Musk waived his right to present arguments when he signed the settlement.
Lower courts unanimously dismissed Musk’s claim.
