The US Supreme Court rejected Elon Musk’s attempt to challenge the terms of a settlement he reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a review of social media posts related to Tesla.
The tech mogul appealed to the Supreme Court against a ruling by the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that the SEC illegally imposed conditions on his ability to comment online on issues related to Tesla.
“The pre-approval provision (...) restricts Mr. Musk’s speech even when truthful and accurate,(...) through the never-ending threat of contempt, fines, or even imprisonment for otherwise protected speech if not pre-approved to the SEC’s or a court’s satisfaction,” they argued lawyers before the superior court.
The dispute with the SEC dates back to 2018 when Musk published a series of statements declaring that he had secured the funds to take Tesla private. These statements, which initially generated momentum in the company’s stock, turned out to be controversial, and the SEC deemed the tweets “materially false and misleading.”
As a result of this incident, Musk and the SEC settled a civil securities lawsuit filed by the government agency. The lawsuit involved hiring a Tesla lawyer to pre-review posts related to the company. Additionally, as part of the agreement, Musk would be forced to pay a fine of $20 million.
In 2022, the magnate requested that the agreement end or be modified, arguing its unconstitutionality. However, the SEC responded that Musk waived his right to challenge these restrictions when he accepted the deal, and lower courts agreed to reject the billionaire’s arguments.
